Stay Awhile
by What'sLeftOfMe
Summary: Kya did not like rules, almost as much as she didn't like people. But when she happens to be tied to a pole as a certain green haired swordsman for breaking a rule, she couldn't even fathom how much her life would change.
1. Actions of Pride and Shame

**Chapter 1**

"_**Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can." –Nicholas Sparks, **__**At First Sight.**_

* * *

Kya sighed, blowing a piece of her black bangs out of her face, the rest of her hair tied in a ponytail just like it was a month ago. She knew she smelt awful, and her breath would have been atrocious if not for the little girl sneaking over and brushing her teeth for her. She smiled at the little girl; the whole reasons she was in here... All she had done was tried to save her from that stupid snotty boy Helmeppo and his dogs.

She thought saving the poor little girl's life was worth being tied to a pool.

Frowning, she looked at the sky. She had been here a month. _**A month!**_ Morgan had said two weeks, if she could live. And so far she had out lived the past two guys tied to the pole with her. Though she knew it was all thanks to the little girl giving her food and water every now and again. Anyways, the other two men were quite boring. They rarely talked, only cried and complained till they died.

"Hey, stupid bitch. We got another one for you."

Growling, she closed her eyes. She hated that ugly man, and refused to look at him. She couldn't care less about this new comer. "Oi! I said we got another one!" He screamed again. "Tch. I don't care." She answered, not even bothering to open her crystal blue eyes.

"Why aren't you dead yet?" The blonde haired man questioned as the person, a man she figured from the feel of his arms against hers, was tied up behind her. He didn't talk, only made small grunts as the marines tightened the ropes. Finally, with a sigh, she opened her eyes and looked at the Marine Captain's son. "I'm invincible." She said sarcastically. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the man. He had a dark green bandana and a white shirt on, but that's all she could tell from her view.

The sound of a hand hitting her cheek echoed around the courtyard and she spat blood from her mouth. She couldn't even remember how many times the man had slapped her. "Do not insult my intelligence!" Helmeppo cried out, a few tears straying from his eyes. She smiled darkly at him, blood dripping down her chin. "Who said I was insulting it?"

"Oi, leave the girl alone." A gruff voice said from behind her. She jumped slightly before realizing it was her new friend. Helmeppo turned his attention to the newbie, making her frown. "What was that, Roronoa Zoro?" He demanded, kicking dirt onto his new prisoner.

Kya's eyes widened. Roronoa Zoro? Wasn't he the infamous bounty hunter? The man whose name made pirates tremble in their boots? And he was tied up to a boost on this little island? How inconvenient.

"I told you to leave her alone. You're annoying and ugly. I don't want to see you anymore."

Helmeppo's face was priceless, and she couldn't help but snort at it. "Wh-wh-what? How dare you say such vulgar things to me! I will get my daddy on you!" He cried out, before running off to the gate. The two Marines with him looked at each other before taking off after him.

'_What idiots.' _She thought boredly, looking back at the sky. In the month she had been her, she had come to love the sight. She had never paid much attention to it before, but now she somehow wished she lived there instead of here.

"So….why are you here?" Zoro asked after a long silence. She chuckled lightly before answering. "Killing one of the brat's dogs trying to save a little girl." He twisted uncomfortably in his ropes, making them rub against her harshly. "Hey! Hey! Stop moving! You're going to dig it into my skin!"

"Sorry." He breathed, relaxing slightly. "Well, that's the same reason I'm here." He grumbled making her laugh. "How pathetic of us." She answered, making him growl. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I mean we're both fairly strong-"

"I'm definitely stronger than you."

"-and here we are. Tied to a wooden pole together."

He made an incoherent sound, and she sighed for the millionth time. Life here was pretty boring, she had to say, but well spent. Thought she could hardly count the tragedies of losing her family and best friend were well, everything else accordingly was. Being an assassin was the best job she could ever ask for; killing people just so happened to be her calling. She was so cat-like in stealth, people would die just to hire her. It paid good too.

She looked down at her attire. A black tube top with black leggings and sandals. Her utility belt had been taken away with all her weapons, and it frustrated her dearly. Weapons were all she had in this world. And definitely all she needed.

"Oi, woman. What is there to do?"

Snorting, she turned her head to the man. "What do you think? We're tied to a damn pole." She muttered sadly. He sighed. "I guess I'll just sleep for the rest of my days here then."

* * *

It had been, what? Nine or so days since the 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro had come along and been tied to the post with her. She had learned of some of his journeys, his two bounty hunting friends, little of his past life, and how annoying he gets when he sleeps.

"Oi, you okay?" Kya asked solemnly, as he was most likely bleeding again. Helmeppo had come by and she had mouthed off again, and Zoro had stood up for her, again. It was asinine the way he stood up for her for no reason. Every time she would ask why, he'd make a 'hn' noise and go back to sleep.

"Just peachy." He grumbled lowly, tiredly. He was exhausted, and so was she. Almost two months out here in this heat. The little girl didn't stop by as often anymore, and she knew that both of them were dehydrated and on the verge of starving.

Suddenly, loud voices were heard from the wall behind her. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but the voices were two male idiots. "What do they want?" She groaned, hoping not to make a big scene again.

"Hey you!" That was Zoro. Her head whipped around, eyeing him fiercely. "What the hell are you doing?" She seethed quietly. "Could you please come over here and untie us? I've been here for nine days and her for almost two months. We're exhausted."

"Look he's smiling." One idiot said. "He..! He talked? And there's a girl with him?" The timid idiot said back. She sighed angrily. This would not be good. "I'll repay you." Zoro added. "I could hunt down a fugitive and give you the rewards. I'm not lying. I'll keep my words."

"Don't do it Luffy-san! Don't be tricked by his words! If you free him, he'll kill us and escape! And who knows what that woman will do to us!"

"They can't kill me. Because…I'm strong too."

"Eh?"

A loud clanking noise made everyone stop talking. A few 'ehs!' and a small 'shh.' Were heard, but Kya couldn't see them still and it was really bothering her. "Ah! Don't, it's too dangerous!" The timid boy shouted and hearing the small footsteps, she could tell it was the little girl.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Zoro asked, surprised. "Zoro! Don't be rude!" She scolded him. He ignored her, again, and kept on talking. "Do you want to die or something? Get lost!"

"Uhm, brother, I made some rice balls for you and Kya-san! You guys haven't eaten for a long time right?" The little girl said happily, extending her hands out with three rice balls. Kya eyed them deliciously. "This is the first time I made rice balls-"

"I'm not hungry! Go away!"

"What about me?"

"But…."

"I don't want it! Leave! I'll kill you if don't go!"

She wanted to strangle him. She wanted to tie him to a chair and torture him for hours. How could he do this to her? She was starving, and obviously so was he, but he was being a man and denying it! "Zoro, whenever we get untied, I'm going to kill you."

"Roronoa Zoro! Giselle Kya! Don't pick on little kids or else I'll have to report to my father about it."

Groaning, she glared at the ugly blonde. He was back, again. She he wouldn't attempt to murder Zoro again. "Tch. If isn't the lieutenant bastard's son." The green haired man grumbled behind her and she chuckled.

"Bastard? Don't get cocky with me, my father's a lieutenant!" Helmeppo shouted, cupping his ear as he walked forward with two Marines. "Obviously, dumbass." Kya added haughtily. "You! You're going to die in the next few days, why should I bother with you?"

She glared at him as he marched up to the little girl. "Well hello there little girl. These rice balls look pretty tasty!" He said ignorantly, grabbing one. "Ah! Stop it!"

Taking a bite out of one, his eyes widened and his face scowled. "Blegh!" He spat. "Horrible! You put too much sugar in it! You're supposed to put salt in these things!" "Bu-but I thought they'd taste better sweet!" The little girl yelled, but the asshole simply threw them to the ground and stamped them into the dirt.

"How could someone eat something like this? Damn it!"

"Aah! Stop ! They can't eat this anymore!"

"Don't worry. The ants will eat them up."

He squished them into the ground, making a giant rice ball as the girl cried. "That's so cruel! I…I tried really hard to make them!" She wailed. "Awh. Don't cry. No wonder why I hate brats so much." Helmeppo complained, placing a hand on his face. "It's all your fault you know? Didn't you see what was written here? 'Anyone who helps with the prisoners will be charged with the same crime.-Marine Lieutenant Morgan.' You know how scary my dad can be right? You could've gotten the death penalty if you were a grown up!"

"Oi! Throw this brat out!"

Kya's eyes widened. Throw her out? She was just a little kid! The Marine was hesitant, but Helmeppo was already in front of the man. She wanted to rip his throat from his neck, badly. She strained in her hold, causing Zoro to groan.

"I'm telling you to throw her outta here! Are you trying to disobey me? I'm telling my dad!"

"A-Aye sir!"

She couldn't see the girl being tossed over the wall, but she heard her cries and her heart wrenched. This man, this ugly, good-for-nothing man was a monster. She would kill him if she had to. "I didn't think either of you would have this kind of endurance! I'm gonna keep you two alive for a whole month! Well, for Zoro at least. Kya doesn't seem to have much longer."

She glared at him, growling deeply. "You better keep your promise!" Zoro shouted, pulling against the ropes. "Oh I'll keep my promise!" Helmeppo laughed. "If you can live like this for another month I'll let you go!" He added, walking off with the Marines. "Good luck!"

"Zoro…" She mumbled. "Hn?" The ropes gripped her tighter as he pulled against him. "He's right, I don't have much time left. My body is pretty much eating away at itself."

"Why are you telling me this?"

In truth, she didn't know. She just had this feeling of mutual trusts towards him, and it felt like these things needed to be said to him. "If anyone asks, I was fighting a Sea King and fell off a water fall." She grinned, and he chuckled lightly, but stopped abruptly.

"You still haven't left yet? Leave now or else he'll go tell his dad about it." Zoro warned the young, most likely the one known as 'Luffy'. "I'm looking for some people to join my crew." The boy said. Turning her head to the side, she caught a glimpse of the young boy. Tall, skinny, jean shorts, a vest, and a straw hat. He didn't look like a pirate to her.

"Pirate? Heh! So you just gave up a life and became a crook?"

"It's my dream! There's nothing wrong with being a pirate!"

"Don't tell me you're going to set me free and force me to join you?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet, since everyone seems to think you're a bad guy."

"A bad guy huh? I'll never join you because I have something that I need to take care of! I could survive even if you don't help me! I just need to stay alive for one month, like Kya. That bastard kid promised to let me go after wards. I'm going to do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams!"

Kya was surprised. He was so…confident. Neither of them had talked about their dreams, and it made her wonder what was going on in that pea brain of his. "Really? If I were you I think I'd starve to death in a week." The young boy said gleefully, walking around to Kya.

She studied him as Zoro spoke. "That's why we're different. Go find someone else to join you." He growled. "What about you?" The boy asked her, ignore the swordsman behind her. She smiled lightly, looking at his shaggy black and deep scar. "I like you kid. You got guts."

"Wanna join my crew?"

"I'll sleep on. Piracy was something I never actually thought about."

He smiled, giving her a thumbs up before walking off. "Hey! Hold on!" Zoro shouted, and she raised an eyebrow. _'What is he doing…?'_ She thought boredly. "That..can you pick that up for me?"

"You want to eat this? But the rice ball is all muddy? Well I guess you can't be picky about your food when you're hungry."

"Shut up. Just give it to me. Let me eat all of it."

"What about her?" The boy, Luffy, asked hesitantly. She chuckled. "I'm fine, kid. Give him the food." She said, and the sound of Zoro's loud mouth echoed around her as he ate the dirty food. "Do you want to kill yourself?" Luffy asked, and she snorted.

"Tell that littler girl…" Zoro coughed out slowly. "Tell her what?" "'The rice balls taste very good. Thank you very much.'" He ended, slightly panting and the boy laughed before hopping back over the wall.

Kya let out a long, dry laugh. "Who woulda thought? The great 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro has a soft spot for children. How cute." She joked. "Oi! Shut up! Why didn't you eat anything?"

"Oh? Do you actually care about me?"

"Woman, if you don't shut the hell up…."

"Sorry. Sorry. Well, you seem to be more hungry than I am. I'm going to die anyways, it would be pointless for me to eat."

"I'm not going to let you die woman. Stop saying that."

She sighed. "If that was only true, Zoro. If that was only true."


	2. Freedom

**Chapter 2**

"**Words are easy, like the wind. Faithful friends are hard to find." -Shakespeare **

* * *

"Hey Zoro?"

"Hm?"

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly?"

"No."

"Oh. You're boring."

Kya leaned her head back against the wooden pole. Her black bangs covered one eye, while the pink hair still placed neatly in a pony tail flew in the breeze. She stared up at the sky, longing to float in one of the clouds. Her eyelids drooped and her body felt weak. She had been like this for too long. It was wearing on her poor, little body.

"Tch. Shut up woman. Go sleep or something." The large man behind her grumbled and she sighed. "I don't want to die. Do you think the kid will come back?" She muttered in shame. She never was one to give in, but if the kid didn't come back, she was dead for sure. "Woman, say that one more time. You're not going to die. Neither of us will. Just...wait a little longer." He said calmly, twisting lightly in the ropes. "What if I can't?" She whispered and he groaned. "Just...talk to me then." He said unsurely and she chuckled.

"How about...the question game?"

"Whatever makes you happy."

"Okay. Uhm, let's see. How many swords do you use?"

"Three. What about you?"

She raised an eyebrow. Santoryu? She had never heard of anyone who used three swords. Of course she knew someone with four but, that was unimportant at the moment. "I use a dagger, a gun, and needles. What color is your hair?" She had been unable to see his hair, much less him at all. The marines had not brought him in front of her, so she had no clue what he looked like except the small glances of his arm and shirt she had. He laughed lightly. "It's green. Is your hair naturally pink or black?" He asked. "Pink. Where are you from?" "East blue. And you?" "...Grand Line."

The questions went back and forth for a while; she had told him about her deceased family and he told her about his deceased friend, Kuina and much, much more. Over all, she had learned much about him, but she had no idea why he talked to her so...so openly. It was quite intriguing.

It was the middle of the day, and she was sweating profusely. "It's too damn hot." He mumbled tiredly and she sighed in agreement. She had no idea how long she'd be able to last, but hopefully the kid would pull off something miraculous and save the both of them.

"Yo."

Speaking of the devil. She heard the young boy's footsteps get closer to them and Zoro growled. "It's you again? I told you I don't wanna be a pirate!" he yelled and she snorted. "I'm Luffy. If I loosen up the ropes you're gonna join me alright?" The kid said back and she laughed. Luffy. An interesting name for an interesting boy. She liked him. "I've told you clearly! I have things that I need to do. Besides I'm not going to be a bad guy like a pirate."

"What's the difference? Everyone already thinks you're a bad guy anyways. What about you skinny girl?" Luffy asked childishly, and she couldn't help but smirk. "You got a deal kid." She answered and he clapped his hands. "How can you join so easily? Anyways. I don't care what they say about me!I haven't done one thing that I regretted in the past and it will be the same for the future! I won't become a pirate!" Zoro declared angrily and Kya sighed. It was his loss.

"I don't care. You are going to join me!"

"Don't decided for yourself!"

She laughed lightly at how persistent the boy was. Though he looked like a stick, his attitude would make him a great pirate. "Hey, I heard that you use a katana. Is that right?" Luffy asked. She couldn't see him, but she knew for sure there was a smug look on his face. "Hrm. If I wasn't tied up I could use a katana."

"What do you use...?"

"It's Kya. I have a belt. With a bunch of pockets and a dagger."

"Where are these things?"

"That bastard kid took them." She growled. "My swords are something that I treasure the most...other than my life." Zoro added confidently. "Ohhh? Treasure, huh? It must be something great! Okay! I'm gonna go where that bastard kid is and get your stuff back." Luffy said cheerfully and she nearly choked on her saliva.

"What?"

"But if you want me to return it to you, you'll have to join me." He added and she smirked wildly.

_'What a tricky little kid.' _She thought as Zoro shouted. "That's dirty! Oi, wait!" She turned her head to see the kid running off. "...Is he planning on sneaking in the base? What a fool." "I guess he is. Hope he doesn't get himself killed."

"H-hey." A meek voice said behind her. She turned her head, catching a glimpse of a young boy with the same colored pink hair as her and big rimmed glasses. "What do you want?" Zoro growled angrily. The boy made an attempt to talk, but failed miserably making her chuckle. "Let the poor kid talk. You're with Luffy right?" She asked. "Uh. uh. Yes! Where is he?"

"Your friend went inside the base to get our stuff."

"What? Luffy-san is inside the base? He's too hot headed." The boy said as he walked forward. "Yea. You're right. Who is he anyways-Oi! If you help us they are going to kill you!" Zoro said to the boy as he began to undo the ropes. Kya smiled at him. Finally. Freedom. The boy pulled and tugged until her arm was free, but Zoro's was not.

"You guys shouldn't be arrested! I can't stand those kinds of Marines!I'm going to become a real Marine just like the way Luffy-san is determined to become the pirate king!" The boy shouted proudly and her eyes widened. Pirate King? There was no way... "What? P-Pirate King? You are joking right?" Zoro spoke her thoughts as she fiddled with the ropes on her other arm. The boy chuckled, still trying to undo Zoro. " I was a bit shocked when I first heard him. But he's serious!"

A loud rang echoed around them and she heard Zoro gasp. She twisted her head, watching, horrified, as the pink haired boy was shot and flew back and hit the ground. She glared at the Marines standing across from them as the boy screamed in terror. At least he was still alive.

"I've been shot! Bleeding! I'm bleeding! I'm gonna die!" He cried melodramatically and she sighed, finally undoing the knot on her arm. "Are you alright?" Zoro asked breathless, still tied completely to the post. " Run for your life. They're almost here." He added. She growled, almost done untying the rope from her waist.

"No! I've got to set you free as soon as possible."

"There is no need to worry about me! Just get her out of here! As long as I can withstand this for a month they'll set me free! Hurry and lea-"

"They will not set you free! Because they're going to kill you in three days!"

She gasped, stopping at the last rope. Execute him? "Nonsense! That bastard promised me that if I could survive this for a month he'd free me!" He yelled defiantly. "Zoro... listen to him and stop being hard headed." she chided, continuing on her binding. "He never intended to keep his promise! That's why Luffy-san punched him on your behalf!Because he was toying with you!" The boy continued.

Finally, she managed to undo the last rope. She stood up on shaky legs, leaning against the post for help. "What did you just say?" Zoro shouted, unconvinced. Carefully she turned around and began working on his ropes. He jumped and looked up at her, mouth agape. "The Marines will never let the three of you off! Please, after you're set free, please help rescue Luffy-san!" She got a good look at the boy now. Short, pink hair, big glasses, big, weird face, kinda chubby. She wondered how he would ever make a good marine.

"I will not force you to become a pirate, however, he is my savior!" He continued, falling to his knees. "Luffy-san is very strong! As long as you three join forces, you all will definitely be able to escape this town!" She smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry." He jumped when she spoke. "Maybe if I can get these damn ropes off him, we'll be able to help." she growled, pulling on the said dastardly things. "Ow! What the hell are you doing?" Zoro shouted at her. She looked down at him, finally able to see him. He was tan, very tan, with three earrings in his left ear. He was extremely built with a white shirt, dark green pants, a light green waistband, and dark green boots. _'He must really like green.'_ She thought amusingly. "I'm trying to help you dammit!"

"That's enough! The three of you who have betrayed Lieutenant Morgan die here!"

She stopped with the ropes and glared at the Marines pointing there guns at the three of them. "Shit." she grumbled, stepping away from the post. She couldn't get close enough to beat them without getting shot. It wasn't a good situation to be in.

"Surround the base! Don't let the guy with the straw hat escape!"

The voice boomed around them, and out walked a large man with an iron jaw and a hammer hand. He was quite... She couldn't even think of the words to describe him. She put a hand on her hip and walked forward in front of the two boys. "How interesting..." The man started. " The four of you are planning to cause a political upheaval?"

She figured the man was Morgan, and he had the build to back up his reputation. Quite a scary man, and she knew with the little strength she had at the moment, she'd be crushed in an instant. "Roronoa Zoro! I've heard your name from a long time ago, but do not underestimate me! You're just garbage! And Giselle Kya, never thought I'd see your pretty little face around here. For an assassin you are not very sneaky. Too bad I'll have to crush you like a grape. Ready!"

She stood in front of Zoro and the boy proudly. Her dreams were not as important as Zoro's and the kid's. She was unimportant. If she died, nothing would change. All she had to do was protect them. "Kya! What the hell are you doing?" The swordsman shouted behind her, and she made no effort to answer.

"Fire!"

She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the metal objects through her body, but nothing hit. _'Are they that bad of an aim?'_ she thought warily, opening an eye. Her mouth dropped as a bullet covered in skin brushed her nose and Luffy stood in front of her.

"You!"

"Luffy-san!"

"Kid..."

"The straw-hat boy!"

She was extremely...dazzled. The bullets didn't go through him. "It's no use!" He shouted, slinging the bullets back at the Marines and he laughed maniacally. "What kind of human are you!" Zoro yelled from behind her and she frowned. "Ya...uhm. What the hell are you exactly?"

"I am...the one who will become the Pirate King!" He said, smirking before tossing Kya her belt and dagger. She smiled happily as he walked past her to Zoro. Quickly she wrapped the fabric around her waist, the four pockets hanging by her left thigh. She wrapped the the dagger, which had been placed securely in its holder, around her right thigh. It felt good to have them back. She dug around the pockets, feeling 20 needles, no more thread, no more bandages. _'Shit. I forgot. My pistol broke.' _She growled mentally, feeling the magazine in her fourth pocket.

"Yes! I have two companions!" Luffy shouted suddenly and she turned to look at them lazily. She studied him carefully. Skinny, about two inches taller than her, wore blue jean shorts, sandals and a vest. Quite an awkward looking kid if you asked her.

"Okay, hurry and get these ropes off me." Zoro growled in defeat. She smiled warmly at him and he frowned at her. "Shuttup." He threw at her as the Marines shouted in disbelief. She stuck out her tongue in retaliation and walked over to him. "Let me help." She whispered tiredly as Luffy began to mess the ropes. "Damn! This rope is so hard to untie." He muttered, practically tying her fingers in the rope. "oi! Luffy that hurts!" She mumbled and Zoro growled. "Oi! Hurry up!"

"I'm taking my time." The straw hat boy said simply, tying her fingers tighter and she yelped in pain. "We don't have time for you to take your time!" She looked over to see the Marines heading towards them with their swords. The boy with pink hair began shouting inaudible things and she managed to release her fingers, turning towards the Marines. She pulled out about ten of her needles, placing five in her mouth and the rest in between her fingers. She hadn't been in a good fight in a while.

She jumped back when suddenly Zoro was in front of her, stopping all the Marines with his three swords: two in his hands and one in his mouth. She pouted at the fact he stole her fight. "What the...!" That was Morgan. "Oooooh! Coool!" And that was Luffy. She only crossed her arms, and looked a way from him. "Idiot. Stealing my fight." She muttered, removing the needles from her mouth.

"All of you better not move! You move and I'll kill you!"

The Marines shook with fright but she still pouted. It was _**her **_fight!"I already told you that I'd be a pirate with you. Either way, after this incident with the Marines, I'll be an outlaw too..." He started, struggling slightly to hold the Marines back. "But it's okay. I still have my own goals. I'm going to become the worlds greatest swordsman! I no longer care if my name is clean or not!Bad guy, good guy, it no longer matters! As long as my name is known worldwide! But if you do something that ends up in the way of my goals, I will have you cut your stomach open to say sorry! And that goes for you too woman!"

"Shuttup! This was my fight and you took it!" She retorted, and he growled slightly at her while Luffy simply laughed. "Good! To be the world's greatest swordsman! Since you wannabe the Pirate King's crew member, if you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed." he turned to Kya. "What about you?"

She frowned and closed her eyes. "I'm going to become the world's best assassin and kill the man that destroyed my village." She said quietly and the boy placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to make a good crew." He said seriously. She turned to him and smiled. "That we will, that we will."

He smiled brightly before shouting, "Duck!" She and Zoro followed directions and fell to the ground. "Gomu Gomu...Leg Sweeper!" Luffy's leg stretched dramatically, knocking all the Marines away. "Super! Very cool!" The pink haired boy shouted, and she had almost forgotten about him. "What are you..?" Zoro wondered aloud, sword still in his mouth. Of course she wondered the same thing, but she was more focused on how he could talk with the damn thing in his mouth.

"I am... a rubber man!"

_'Oh. Devil Fruit. That makes sense.' _She thought, placing a finger on her chin. She looked at all the Marines laying on the ground, and she hoped this would be her chance to shine. Morgan said something to them, and suddenly a few of them placed guns to their heads and shot themselves. She gasped. "Wha-what the hell?"

"What the fuck do these Marines think they're doing?" Zoro muttered as the Luffy ran towards the large military group. "I am the Marines worst enemy! If you have guns then execute me!" Luffy shouted, raising a fist and hitting Morgan's ax.

"Luffy-san! Defeat the Marines!"

Kya turned lazily to Zoro, who had removed the sword from his mouth, and hit him. "Oi! What the hell was that for woman!" He shouted, glaring at her. She frowned, looking him up and down. He was a good five inches taller than herself, and not extremely ugly...

"For stealing my fight."

"You're still on that."

"I'll never let that go."

"You're stupid."

She ignored him and turned back to Luffy's fight with Morgan. Apparently the young kid had sent the Lieutenant flying, and the Marines were panicked. Morgan was right back up though, and went to hit Luffy with the ax hand but it was simply dodge and Luffy's foot was right back in the man's face.

As Luffy was pounding Morgan's face in, the ugly bastard of a son's voice rang around them. "Wait! You idiot I told you to wait!" She turned around to see Helmeppo holding a gun to the pink haired boy's head. "If you want this guy to survive, then don't move!If anyone moves I'll shoot!"

"Helmeppo-sama!"

"Luffy, I..." The boy started. "I don't wanna be in your way! I'm not afraid of death!" He cried. "Okay...I know." Luffy simply answered, smiling and she snorted. "You stupid son, Koby's not afraid of death!"

So Koby was his name...Kya smirked, placing five needles in her mouth. "Hey you idiot!I told you not to move or I'm gonna shoot!" Helmeppo shouted as Luffy raised an arm. "Go ahead and shoot!"

"Luffy behind you!" Koby cried, and she and Zoro began to get ready to maneuver. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy's arm shot out, hitting the ugly son in the face, while the two newly recruited pirates ran at Morgan, who was about to slice their captain in half.

She jumped up and shot the needles from her mouth, hitting the exact spots of the lieutenant's pressure points on his neck and shoulders while Zoro simply cut his stomach. She landed next to the swordsman, smiling. She finally got to do something.

"Zoro! Kya!"

"Leave it to us."

"Captain."

She smiled at the two of them before swaying slightly. "I think I'm done for now." She muttered, leaning against the strongly built swordsman. "What...are you doing?" He asked unsurely and she sighed. "I can't...stay awake." She muttered quietly before her world went black.


	3. Pirates

**Chapter 3**

"**Never give up on anybody."-Hubert H. Humphrey**

* * *

Kya yawned loudly as she awoke to an unfamiliar room. "Where am I?" she wondered a loud, pushing herself out of the comfortable bed in the small room. She bit her lip, remembering the past events. "They must've taken us to an inn or something. How sweet." She muttered, walking over to a door on the left side. She hoped it was the shower.

Thankfully, she was right. She smiled brightly. "Finally! A nice warm shower!" she exclaimed, removing her clothing quickly and jumping under it. She'd never been so glad to have a shower in her life. All the grime that had accumulated over the past weeks was now gone, making its way down the drain. She felt so...refreshed.

After a long, much needed soak, she quickly dried herself off and threw on a black tube top that covered her busty chest and black leggings and then her belt and knife strap. She was happy, no, ecstatic to freed from the damn wooden object that held her against her will. Now, she was a free woman. To do whatever she pleased. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, smiling. Her black side swept bangs outlined the top of her face, while her breast length pink hair framed the rest of it. She was small and skinny; only five foot five and 98 pounds. A perfect assassin.

She flinched at the word. She no longer wished to kill people for living, though it had good pay. Killing people just didn't seem like a good job anymore. Smiling even bigger, she remembered what she was now. A pirate. Luffy was going to be her captain. Hopefully a damn good one at that.

She sauntered her way down the stairs to the man part of the building which was a restaurant. Not just any restaurant though, but the one where she had been arrested by the ugly bastard. She frowned at the memories, but shrugged it off. Today was a fresh start.

"Oh! Kya-san! Glad to see you're awake! My name is Rika, remember me?"

Jumping, she turned to see the little girl with a large plate of food in her hands. It was the same little girl that she had saved. She smiled lightly, placing a hand atop the brown haired girl's head. "Of course I do! Thank you, for letting me take residence for the night...or however long I was here."

"It was only a night. Luffy-san and the other boys are still sleeping. But no need to thank us. You guys are the ones that saved our town!" A woman with the same colored hair said happily behind the counter, most likely Rika's mother. Kya smiled at her. "It was no problem at all." She said before walking over to a chair by the window.

"What would you like to eat?" Rika asked, giggling. "Uhm, some ale and apples if you wouldn't mind." Kya answered, folding her arms across her chest. "Ale? You're old enough to drink ale?" Her mother questioned.

"I'm 18."

Rika and her mother gawked slightly, but didn't say anything, only went to get her requests. "Oi! Oi! I'm hungry!" A loud whine came from the top of the stairs and Kya sighed. That was Luffy. "Meat!" Said boy came running down the stairs, pounding his fists against his chest. "I want meat!" he declared before he stopped when he saw her.

"Oi! Kya! You're awake!" He shouted, running over to her and glomping her. She jumped slightly, but hugged him back. "Of course I am baka. Now get off me so I can breathe." She grumbled and he released her tiny form. He smiled cheekily at her before taking a seat. "Are you ready to become a pirate?"

"Sure thing." She smiled at him and he gave her a thumbs up. "We're gonna go to Grand Line and find One Piece! And all be the Pirate King!" He shouted and she chuckled. "Oi, Luffy. You're so loud. You'll wake Zoro and Koby." She chided.

"So, Kya. What are you dreams again?"

"Ah, well. I've decided killing people as a profession isn't really my...forte anymore. I just plan on killing the man who destroyed my home."

"Where is your home?"

"Grand Line."

The straw hat boy nearly spit the food he was eating out on her. "You're from the Grand Line?" He shouted. "Oi! Oi! What's with all this ruckus?" A deep voice bellowed from the stairway. She looked behind the black haired dimwit to see Zoro rubbing his head as he walked towards them. She smiled warmly. "Glad to see you're okay, Zoro." She said and he stared at her for a moment... or moments. The restaurant was silent for some time before she snapped her fingers, bringing him back into reality. "Oi. What's wrong with you?" he jumped back a little, making a strange face and shaking his arms. "N-N-Nothing! I was just thinking! I'm glad you're alright too."

She raised an eyebrow as he came to sit at the table with them. Rika's mother brought over a surplus of apples, gallons of ale, and plates stacked high with meat. "Meat!" Luffy cried, digging in first. Kya and Zoro chuckled at him for a moment, before eating themselves.

"Kya, mhuy rngh oh watkng nrgeat?" (Kya, why aren't you eating meat?) Luffy asked through mouthfuls of food. "I don't eat meat." She said, smiling as his mouth dropped to the floor. "You don't eat meat?" He shouted, throwing some at her. "Oi! Luffy stop!" She cried, only to be muffled by the boy climbing on top of her trying to stuff the awful substance in her mouth. "Eat!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Zoro laughed loudly as he pried Luffy off the poor girl. "Luffy, leave her alone. We don't want to kill her just yet, right?" He winked and she frowned. "Owh! What the hell was that for?" he cried, nursing the newly formed bump on his head. She smiled in satisfaction. "You deserved it." She answered simply before grabbing an apple and taking a large bite of it.

After some time, Koby had found his way down to the restaurant and all four of them had eaten enough food for a fleet of ships, well the boys had. Kya munched on apples and drank about eight glasses of ale. "I'm full! Haven't eaten for nine days, almost starved to death!" Zoro exclaimed, rubbing his stomach. She made a 'hn' noise at the ignorant man. She hadn't eaten for almost two months. She wasn't complaining. "Then it would've been impossible for you to last a month!" Luffy laughed, still stuffing his face.

"Your so scrawny, how come you can eat so much more than me?" Zoro demanded, leaning towards the boy. She had wondered the same thing, but figured it was probably cause he was rubber. "Sorry, even I ate a lot." Koby muttered quietly, rubbing the back of his head in shame. "Don't worry! Keep eating, you saved our town!"

"Onii-san you're so strong!" Rika exclaimed coming up next to Luffy. He smiled, his mouth full of food. "Yup! I'm strong. I'll get stronger later on!" Zoro turned to look at his new captain. "Oh yea, what are your plans next?" He asked.

"I am going to head for the Grand Line!"

Koby nearly choked on his food and Kya chuckled at him. "What?You're saying crazy things again! Just you three, how can you enter the Grand Line! Don't you understand? The world's greatest pirates are there!" He yelled, getting in Luffy's face. "We're going for One Piece... It won't hurt to head in that direction!" Zoro added, smirking. "My home's there. I have to go back." Kya added, resting her chin in her hand.

"Zoro-san! Kya! You're even saying this rubbish!" Koby shouted, getting in _**their **_faces this time. "What are you so worried about, it's not like you're even coming with us..." The green-haired swordsman trailed off unsurely. "Even though I'm not going, I will still worry! Can't I? Can't I worry about you guys?" Kya and Zoro exchanged awkward glances. "Uh..."

"Luffy-san, even though we just met...We are friends!"

"Yup! Even though we have to part, we'll always be friends!"

"I never had friends growing up...Every time I would be picked on... No one would ever stand up for me. But the three of you...taught me to live by my dream!"

"That's why we're heading for the grand line." Luffy told him. "Yup." Zoro added unenthusiastically and Kya smiled and nodded her head at the young boy. "Hmm...that's true..." He began, but then his eyes widened. "No! No! What I meant was that you're too reckless..."

Zoro tapped the boy's forehead with the hilt of his sword. "First of all, you'd better worry about yourself." he started, putting the katana on his shoulder. "Even though you were just doing chores on a pirate ship, you're still a small pirate. Don't underestimate the Marine's ability to gather information. If they know your past, they won't let you in for sure." She nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Marines know _**everything**_."

"Excuse me!"

The entire restaurant stopped what they were doing to turn towards the door. There stood a tan Marine, Ripper his name tag read. "We are wondering...Are you really Pirates?" he asked, his arms behind his back just like the other Marines behind him. "Yes, I just found my first two crew members. That makes us pirates now." Luffy said cheerfully. "Even though you are pirates,in reality..." Ripper fixed his hat. "You saved our town and base. For that we are grateful. But, since you are pirates, as Marines we can't allow you to stay any longer. Please leave this place immediately. As for the events here, we will be reporting them to headquarters."

People in and outside the restaurant began shouting, telling the Marines how stupid and illogical their idea was but the three pirates simply ignored them. Kya stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. "Hmm, well then... Let's go." Luffy said, standing up slowly. "Thanks for the food ma'am." Zoro made no noise as he stood from his seat also. "Luffy-san..."

"Are you really leaving onii-san?" Rika asked sadly, but all questions were left unanswered as the three walked towards the door and the Marines. Ripper moved for them, and headed towards Koby. _'They already know.' _Kya thought sadly, stopping right before the door.

"Aren't you with their group?"

"Eh! I...I...I'm not...I'm not with them!"

"Please hold on..." Ripper directed towards the newbie pirates. "is he telling the truth?" Luffy turned around and pointed at the pink haired boy. "I know what this guy used to do. I can't remember where but, he used to be with this fat female pirate...I think her name was Alvida." Koby's face was drenched in horror as Luffy walked over to him, poking his forehead. "It was a fat and ugly female pirate, and this guy spent two years on there."

"Shut up!"

Kya laughed to herself as Koby punched the straw hat in the face, sending him to the ground. "His tactics sure are weird." She muttered to Zoro, who made a slight 'hn' sound. "You! You deserve a beating!" Luffy yelled back, punching Koby in the face.

Fists and harsh words flew through the air and Zoro looked at Kya. "We should stop him before he gets too far." He muttered, annoyed. She nodded, and they walked over to their captain, grabbing him by the collar. "Hey! You went overboard. Stop it." She said calmly, and he let his arms fall.

"I know he isn't your friend! Please leave this town immediately!"

As they walked outside, Kya ran into three of the officers who arrested her. "What's up guys?" She asked smirking. Zoro chuckled lightly, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Didn't you want to arrest us?" He joked and the three froze in terror, making them both laugh.

"It feels good not to be tied to the post anymore." She said, stretching her arms out as they followed to Luffy to his boat. "Ya. I thought if I was going to be tied there any longer I'd go mad." She chuckled as they reached the...boat?

"Oi! Luffy! What the hell is this?" She screamed, attempting to go after the young captain but was held back by the swordsman. "Nice act, this way, even though he was a pirate before, it wouldn't be such a big deal." He said, throwing the small girl to the ground. She huffed, glaring at Luffy as he chuckled. "I believe Koby will become stronger and more independent in the future."

Standing up, she brushed herself off. "On of these day... One of these days I will kill both of you and it won't be pretty." She muttered and Zoro threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. "It's time to go, or else there's no telling what else will happen. Not leaving anything behind that's what pirates are all about." He said, smiling. "Oh, I'll tell you what'll happen next." She growled, glaring at him and he only smiled bigger.

"That's what I'm saying!" Luffy laughed, and began untying the boat. She managed to maneuver her way out of Zoro's hold and from the corner of her eye she saw Koby panting heavily by them. "Luffy-san! Thank you very much! I will never forget you for the rest of my life!" He cried, saluting them.

"I've never seen a Marine saluting pirates." Zoro noted lazily and she only shrugged. "Only us, I guess." She said and he sighed. "Koby! We'll meet again someday!" Luffy shouted waving as the three climbed into the small raft-like boat.

"Group, salute!"

She gasped slightly as the Marines stood behind Koby, saluting the three pirates with him. She smiled and waved lightly to them. "This should be an interesting adventure." She chuckled and Luffy raised his fists In the air. "Yahoo! We're off to the Grand Line!"

* * *

"Hey, Kya..."

Said girl looked lazily over at Zoro, who leaned against the opposite railing of the boat as her. Luffy had passed out some time ago, his head rested in her lap as she played with his hair. "Yes?"

"What do you think it'll be like?" he asked quietly, staring up at the sky. She raised an eyebrow. "What will what be like?" she asked, confused. He sighed loudly. "Being a pirate."

"Well...I'm sure it'll be like being an assassin or a pirate hunter. Lots of traveling and killing. But more Marines after us."

"I never planned on doing this."

"Well, neither did I. But here we are. Thanks to this goofball."

He chuckled at her name for Luffy. "Ya, here we are. As pirates." She smiled lightly at him. "It can't be so bad. I mean, it'll get us closer to our dreams right?" He sighed and stood up, rocking the boat slightly. "I guess. If we don't get killed first."

Gently, she moved Luffy's head up to turn the opposite way of where she was sitting. She put his head back on her thigh before laying down herself. "Well, aren't you a little pessimistic?" she said sarcastically and he snorted.

"You're annoying."

"No I'm not."

"Yes. You are."

"Shut up."

"I think you're the one who needs to shut up."

She growled lightly. "I'm going to bed now." She declared, placing her arms behind her head and closing her eyes. He made a loud grunt and his footsteps got closer to her. "Idiot, what are you doing?" She muttered tiredly. The only answer she received was his head on her stomach.

"Why are you-"

"Goodnite."

Annoyed, she let out a a long breath. "Whatever, idiot. Goodnite."


	4. Dirty Tricks

**Chapter 4**

"**There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain. One should sympathise with colour, the beauty, the joy of life. The less about life's sores the better."-Oscar Wilde**

* * *

Kya sighed, closing her eyes as she lay sprawled out in between the two men. She hated being on such a tiny ship; there was no where to do yoga or train. It was driving her almost as crazy as Luffy's whining. Apparently, the boy tends to snack in his sleep, and he ate the three out of food. "Ugh. I'm so hungry!" He cried and she cringed, resisting the urge to kill him. He was like the pesky little brother she never had.

"It's funny that neither of you have any navigation skills." Zoro commented casually and she opened an eye to glare at him, but all he did was wave it off. "Why? I've always been just wandering." Luffy answered cluelessly. "I traveled with people who knew how to navigate." She said irritated and he chuckled.

"You're like me, though. Wandering and capturing hunted pirates for rewards." Luffy commented. "Ya. What about your navigation skills?" She shot haughtily, sitting up. "I don't remember me saying that I live completely off rewards! I was searching for a man, that's why I left out to sea. But now, I can't find my way back home...I had no choice but to start hunting pirates for a living, just to get a little bit for the expenses." Zoro answered thoughtfully, looking off into the distance.

"Oh, so you're lost?"

She chuckled lightly, leaning back against her captain as Zoro yelled. "Shut up! You are the one who's lost!" He sighed lightly before speaking again. "Geez, never heard of pirates who don't know how to navigate. How do you expect to get to the Grand Line like this? You should hurry and find a crew mate who can navigate!"

"And someone who knows how to cook, and someone for singing..." Luffy began, counting his fingers. She laughed light heartedly and Zoro growled lowly. "Idiot! What are you going off on?" He yelled, and suddenly the two boys fell backwards. Kya managed to stop herself from falling onto Luffy and sighed. "Sooooo hungryyyy..." They whined together.

"Oh! A bird!" Zoro said suddenly, and sure enough, a big bird was flying in the sky over their heads. _'What an awkward looking bird.'_ She thought boredly, shielding the sun from her eyes with her hand. "Looks pretty tasty." Luffy added, and she kicked his leg lightly. He simply ignored her and sat up excitedly. "Let's eat that bird!" He shouted, smiling brightly. "How are you going to eat it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll go get it! Watch my specialty! Gomu Gomu no..."

Both her and Zoro gasped as Luffy launched himself from the mast up to the bird. "Rocket!" He shouted, flying in the air. "If he lands in the water... he's screwed." She mumbled out loud. "Can't believe he thought of that." Zoro answered as they both stared at Luffy flying towards the bird and...getting caught in its mouth?

"Ahhhh! Help!"

"You idiot!" The two yelled at him as Zoro began rowing the boat at an inhumane speed. ""What the heck are you doing?Jeez!" he shouted at the sky. "What has he gotten himself into?" She muttered, burying her head in her hands.

"Hey! Stop the boat!"

"They boat over there! Stop!"

She looked over the side to see three men wailing in the water at them. "We don't have time to stop! Get on yourselves!" She shouted and their faces went pale. "You...What did she say?" One of them yelled, but his question went unanswered as the three clung to the unexplainably fast moving boat rowed by Zoro.

She stood up to sit by him so the three of them could make their way onto the boat. "Heh, you're climbing skills aren't bad." he said, making her chuckle and the men just looked at them as if they were insane.

"Hey, stop the boat."

Growling, she stood from her seat as one the men pulled a knife out. "This is Buggy-sama's territory...' he added, making her scowl. "What?" Zoro shouted, annoyed. He stopped the boat and stood next to her, pulling his katana, still sheathed, out. "We don't have time for this." he grumbled, swiftly hitting one of the men in the head with the sword.

Kya kicked her leg up and brought the down on another one's head while punching the other successfully. She grabbed the two of them and threw them by the oars. "Row." She commanded as Zoro placed the other one in the middle. He smirked wildly at her. "Never knew you were such a hard ass... _**Kya-chan**_." She glared daggers at the man, folding her arms across her chest. "Never knew you were such a wimp..._**Zoro-kun**_." He frowned, making an unintelligent sound as he turned away from her.

"Hohohohoho. We didn't know you were Pirate Hunter Zoro! We're really sorry!" They cried, smiling and happily rowing the boat for them. She glared at the ex-bounty hunter. He had only taken one of them out and yet they used his name. One day, she would outdo him.

"You three made me lose track of our friend. Put some back into it! If I don't find my friend, you three are in for it!" He yelled at them, sitting down at the front of the boat. She sighed, blowing her hair out of her face. "Oh." She started, looking at the three, pirates she guessed they were. "Why were you three drifting in the middle of the ocean?" she asked and the one of with the hat nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! Good question you finally asked!"

"That girl!"

"Yea! That bad girl!"

"But she's real cute too!"

The three men went on to explain how, as they sailed towards the island their captain was on after raiding a ship, they spotted a girl in a boat. She offered them her treasure to save her life, but she lied and stole their ship. She told them about a storm that would sink their ship, and sure enough, it did and left them stranded in the ocean and she took off. "And that's what happened! Terrible huh!"

"She can predict the weather...that girl must be something special!" Zoro mused, tapping his chin. Kya nodded in his direction. "Must be a navigator of some sorts. Wonder if she'd join our crew." She said, crossing her arms. "if I find her I'm gonna kill her." The one with the weird hairdo growled. "First we got to get our loot back!" The hatted one said. She figured he must be the brains of the screwed up crew. "Yea... If we go back empty handed, Buggy-sama will..."

"Who's Buggy?"

"He's our pirate leader! Haven't you ever heard of 'Buggy the Clown'? He's a dangerous man who ate a Devil Fruit!" This caught her attention. "A Devil Fruit?" She repeated as her eyes widened. She hoped Luffy wasn't in any trouble.

"We better find that idiot fast before he gets himself killed." Zoro muttered, closing his eyes. She sighed loudly, leaning back against the boat. "How bothersome. Our first adventure together and we have to end up saving him."

"Ex-excuse me, miss?"

She turned her head slightly to see the pirate in the hat sitting by her feet. "What is it?" She growled, annoyed by his stupid antics. "We-well... We all decided to tell you that you are-"

"Extremely beautiful!"

The one in the hat punched the one with the uni brow and cleared his throat. "Well, yes. That is what we wanted to tell you. And also, what is your name?" He folded his hands in his lap and she raised her eyebrow. "Kya."

"Kya-san!~ You're so beautiful!"

She glared at the uni brow pirate. They were so...weird. She hadn't expected pirates to be such idiots these days. Weren't they supposed to be brave and fearless?

"Oi, stop flirting. I see a town." Zoro interrupted, staring off into the distance. Sure enough, a town with multiply rows of buildings came into view. The pirates gasped, and sped up their rowing, quickly making it to the dock. She looked at the large ship next to them, towering over their little boat. _'We should really find a new means of travel...'_ she thought bitterly as the boat was tied to the dock.

"We're here Master Zoro! Miss Kya!"

The two looked around the village, noticing the absence of people. She felt a bit uneasy about the whole thing. "The village is empty? I can't see anyone around..." She muttered, hoping off the boat. "The truth is, our Buggy pirate fleet is here at the moment, raiding this village." the uni brow one said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"We better meet that Buggy guy then..." Zoro said to her as he jumped up up onto the street. "We might be able to get information about Luffy." she nodded. "Let's go." and they took off down the street.

"Where do you think he'll be?" he muttered as they turned a corner. "Who knows, maybe he-"

She barely had time to dodge as the whole row of buildings beside them shatter and exploded. They flew to the side, crashing into a pile of crates. "Shit." she muttered, grabbing her head as she pushed the debris off her. "You okay, Zoro?" He grumbled something incoherent as he sat up. She chuckled lightly but turned her attention towards the building where the shot had come from. "I think we found Buggy." He sighed as she helped him up off the ground. "And Luffy."

Sure enough, there was Luffy on the near edge of the building in a cage. "What an idiot." She muttered as they ran again, this time up the building. "There's a girl with him. That must be the one those pirates were talking about." Zoro said, holding onto the edge of a window. "There's some people going after her. Help her out, I'll get Luffy." she ordered and he nodded. "Got it."

Swiftly, she jumped from line to line, Zoro following, as they made their way up to the top. She landed next to Luffy who smiled brightly at her. Zoro pulled his katanas, unsheathed, out and blocked the pirates going after the young girl. "Just how many of you are going after one girl?"

Kya took a good look at the girl. Short, orange hair, big eyes and pale skin. She wore a white t-shirt with stripes on the sleeves and a mini skirt with circles on the sides. She was pretty, definitely, and had a big chest, though not as big as Kya's. She held a wooden staff, but her hands were chaffed and red, as if they had been burned.

"Kya! Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed from his spot in the cage. She squatted next to him as Zoro made sure the girl was okay. "Idiot. Getting yourself locked up in a cage." she muttered. _'Is he really captain worthy?'_

"You! Is this your idea of fun? You get caught by a bird and carried away, and now, when we finally find you, you're in a cage? Stupid!" Zoro shouted, putting a sword on his shoulder. Kya ignored the whispers from the crowd and looked at the man standing behind Zoro. He wore a large furry cape, a hate that had hair, at least she thought it was hair, sticking out from the sides. His nose was bright red and large and he had a skull and cross bone son his face along with clown paint.

"Buggy..." She whispered to herself, standing up. She could smell the fight coming on and her body longed to give the pirates a good punch or two in the face. "You're definitely Zoro. Are you aiming for my head?" Buggy asked. His voice was low, but raised high in some places. It was like a boy hitting puberty.

"No, I've no interest in that. I'm no longer a pirate hunter because I've quit..."

"But I have some interest, if I kill you, my name will become more famous!"

"If you don't wanna die, then leave me alone."

Her body tensed as Zoro pulled his swords out, ready to fight. "If you don't show your true skills now,you'll soon be covered in blood!" Buggy shouted pulling a small dagger out. "Fine, if this is what you want."

As always, Zoro easily sliced through his opponent, but something was off. Buggy's body fell to the ground in pieces. "There's no blood..." Kya muttered, her eyes going wide as Luffy shouted cluelessly. "Huh? That guy's so weak!"

"He died really easily." She heard Zoro think out loud and Buggy's crew began to laugh. "Uhm... Zoro..." She swallowed heavily, her eyes darting, waiting for a surprise attack. "Oi! You guys! Get me out of this thing." Luffy whined and Zoro walked over to them. "Kya, forget about it. Let's get Luffy out." He said and she nodded as they stood in front of the cage. "This thing won't open without a key, though." She said, pointing towards the lock. He sighed, placing a hand on the trap. "These iron bars won't slice." he added and Luffy only whined loudly.

Suddenly, the pirates around bust out into fits of laughter. "What's so funny?" She growled, but no one answer. "Just give us the key, we don't want to fight you guys." She nodded at Zoro's words and bent down to Luffy. "They're pretty weird." He drawled out slowly and she chuckled lightly.

"Agh!"

She turned to Zoro, watching in horror as a floating hand stabbed him in the side. The blood splattered over her face, and he fell to his knees. "Zoro!" She and Luffy cried together, and she placed her hands on his chest and shoulder, keeping him up.

"Damn it! What the hell is it?" He yelled, pushing her off him and turning around to face the floating hand with the dagger. "The hand! The hand is floating in the air!" She stood up quickly, shouting at the injured man. "Zoro! Stop moving you're going to make it worse!" She knew that would could be deadly if it wasn't treated right away. If he kept pushing himself, he'd die.

"The Bara Bara Fruit! That's the name of the Devils Fruit that I have eaten. No matter how hard you try to slice me up, you can't because I am a sectioned-man!" Her eyes went wide as Buggy yelled. _'A sectioned-man? Zoro has no chance against him!'_

"A sectioned-man? That guys a monster!" Luffy cried out, and it took everything she had not beat the shit out of him. "I see I've missed you vital organs...Roronoa Zoro. But it's still a pretty serious injury. It was an okay victory." Buggy said maliciously, smiling as his crew cheered him on.

_'What a sheepish man. Attack from behind.'_ Kya thought angrily, clenching her fists together. "Stabbing from the back, that's dirty! You big nose!" Luffy shouted and she smiled. When Luffy was free, Buggy would be in for it.

"Who are you calling a big nose?" Buggy shouted, lunging towards the two of them. She pulled her dagger out quickly, but was too slow. A dagger and hand shot towards Luffy and another hand punched her in the stomach, sending her flying towards the edge.

"Luffy! Kya!" She heard Zoro scream as she sat up, wiping the blood from her mouth. "Luffy..." Said boy turned slightly to smile back at her, dagger in between his teeth, before he looked back at Buggy. "I swear, I'm gonna take you down!"

"Oho, take me down? Puwahahahahahahahaha, you're gonna take me down? You're hilarious!You four are gonna die right now on the spot. Puwahaha!"

Sighing Kya stood from where she was and walked over next to Luffy as he laughed. "So you have a will to die, Straw Hat? Just exactly how do you plan on taking me down in this situation? Boys! Laugh at him!" Buggy's crew laughed loudly, and it pissed her off. Clenching her fists she marched towards them, but stopped as Luffy yelled. "Run away! Zoro! Kya!"

She gasped as she stared at him and Zoro did the same. "Hey... your friends came to rescue you, but you're telling them to run away...? What about you?"The girl shouted at Luffy. Kya stared hard at Luffy and, seeing the smile on his face, she understood.

"Got it, Captain."

"Okay."

"Stupid idiot! You think I'm going to let you guys go! Bara Bara Cannon!" she ran behind Zoro, who blocked Buggy's daggers flying in his hands. She frowned as he ran up under the cannon and tried to push it upwards. "Hahahahaha! Zoro's running away! You think you can escape from Captain Buggy?"

She jumped up and flipped in front of him, swiftly kicking Buggy's hands away as Zoro flipped the cannon, pointing it towards Buggy's crew. "Khaaa! He pointed it in our direction!" They all yelled, flailing around wildly. "Agh! That thing still has the 'Buggy Special Cannon-Ball' in it!"

"Light it!" She demanded to the girl as she ran over to Zoro, helping him stand up. The girl's eyes widened. "Wh-what?" Kya sighed. "Hurry!" "Y-Yes!"

The ground shook as the cannon fired the ball towards the crew, destroying them. "Are you okay?" She whispered to Zoro as he clutched his bleeding wound. "This is a good time to go." He began, then looked at the orange haired girl. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl froze for a second. "I...I'm a thief." She declared, making Kya snort. "That girl, is our navigator!" Luffy then announced. "Ohhh. You're the girl that took those idiots' boat."

"You're an idiot aren't you! You're still on about that?If you've got time to say things like that then how about thinking of a way to get out of that cage!" The thief suddenly yelled at Luffy angrily, only making him smile. "Hey! That's a good idea! I'll do that!"

"No, it's okay. Just stay in the cage." Zoro said, smirking. He stood up and placed a hand on Kya's shoulder before walking over to the cage. Slowly, he started lifting it up and she rose to her feet, grinding her teeth in anger and worry. "Hey Zoro, it's okay! Your stomach is gonna pop out if you do this!" Luffy said, his face contorting into fear and disgust. She nodded in agreement. "Zoro, put him down. I'll carry him."

"If it wants to pop out then let it! Don't tell me what to do, I'll do it my own way!" Zoro hoisted the cage, Luffy still inside, onto his shoulder and blood came pouring out of his side. "Zoro stop this! Let me look at it before you go and kill yourself!"

"Don't butt in by saying anything!" He shouted before jumping over to the next building. "Idiots...I'm surrounded by idiots who are going to kill themselves." She muttered, following them half way down the building before Zoro set the cage down, panting heavily. He fell to his butt, grasping his freshly bleeding wound carefully.

"Let me look at it." She whispered, bending down next to him. "I'm fine." He pushed her away, and looked at her with a serious expression. "We don't have time to worry about stupid little wounds right now. We're in a dangerous situation here. But what's been started must be finished I suppose." he chuckled to himself, but that only made her more angry.

"Ow! What the hell!" He screeched after she hit him on the head. "You idiot! You're going to die if you don't let me take care of that wound!" She yelled at him, her eyebrows furrowing. He pouted at her, clutching said wound. "I told you, I'm fine."

"Obviously not if your guts are about to spill out of-"

He covered her mouth with his unbloodied hand and frowned. "Shut up, woman. This won't kill me." She sighed, removing the hand from her face. "If I don't look at it, it will." She told him softly, begging with her eyes. They had just started their adventure. He couldn't die yet.

"You're not going to give up, are you?"

"No."

"Fine. Let's find somewhere safe first."


	5. Perseverance

**Chapter 5**

"**The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy."-John F. Kennedy**

* * *

"We're quite far from the pub now."

Kya walked behind Zoro, lifting the other side of Luffy's cage for him. They had been walking for what seemed like 30 minutes now, hopefully far enough away from Buggy and his crew. "They won't be able to catch up with us immediately now." She added as Luffy began chewing the bars, nearly biting her hand off. "Idiot! Watch it!" She cried, smacking him in the face.

"Our escape was done okay, but this cage is really starting to annoy me." Zoro grumbled, clutching his wound. She told him to stop some time back, she told him to let her fix him up. But nooo, he wouldn't stop for a 'measly wound' as he put it. _'Men.'_ She thought glumly.

"Yeah. If this thing doesn't open then when all those bad guys come I can't even attempt to fight them." Luffy complained when suddenly the green haired man up in the front collapsed. "Zoro!" Kya yelled, dropping her end of the cage and running over to the fallen swordsman. "This is it...I don't have enough blood. I can't walk any longer." He muttered tiredly as she bent down next to him. "Idiot. You should've let me help you." She bent her arms back to dig into a her pocket, when it bumped into something furry.

"A dog?"

She pivoted, falling on her butt as the animal stared angrily into the distance. "What's with this dog?" He questioned, rolling on his back. "Dog? Hey! It's a dog!" Luffy shouted happily. "What is this? Is it really a dog? Hey look Zoro, Kya, the dog isn't even moving at all." he continued, scooting up closer to it in his cage.

_'Shouldn't it be the other way around?'_ She thought, sighing as she helped Zoro sit up against the wall. She pressed her hand to his bleeding wound and he gasped in surprise. "What ever." he grimaced, grabbing her hand to make her stop. "What it does is up to the dog. Right now you've got to think of a way to get out of that cage."

"I wonder if it's dead." Luffy ignored Zoro's fruitless efforts to get the boy on track. "He's a lost cause." She muttered, lowering her head. "Ahhhh! You stupid dog what the hell d'ya think you're doing?" The dog attacked Luffy's face, biting and chewing it. "He probably deserved it." She murmured to no one, and Zoro shot forward, hitting her with his head sending her to the ground. "You idiot do you even realize the seriousness of this situation?" He yelled, not even noticing the young girl lying on the ground clutching her head in pain.

"My head."

"Stupid dog."

"Dammit... I don't have enough blood."

"You three, what are you doing? If you just lie around here in the middle of the street Buggy will surely find you." Kya sat up next to the dog, seeing the orange haired thief standing in front of them. "Hey, our navigator." Zoro commented from the ground. "Who says?" She yelled before sighing. "I just came to repay my debt to you, because you saved my life back there."

"Repay?"

A rather large key was thrown in front in between Kya and Luffy, making a loud clanking sound as hit came in contact with the ground. She smiled brightly. Finally, Luffy could get out of the cage and they could leave. "The key! You stole the key to the cage!" Luffy shouted happily. "Yeah..even if I think so myself it was a really dumb thing to do...Because of that I couldn't steal any treasure." She complained, but her self misery was overcome by Luffy's laughing.

"The cage was such a problem I thought we were just gonna die from the headache it gave us!" he said, wrapping his hands around the bars and Kya shot him a look. "We? I'm pretty sure we would've just left." She said, smirking lightly as his face fell. "Wh-what?" He said, his jaw dropping slightly and she laughed. "Only kidding Luffy. Only kidding." He pointed at her, laughing. "You're funny Kya!"

"Anyways," Zoro groaned as he sat up. "At least making such a difficult escape's reward is finally shining through." She nodded at him, and that's when things went wrong. As Luffy reached for the key, the dog picked it up and swallowed it. All four of them froze and their eyes widened in anger. "That...damn...dog." She muttered, and Luffy grabbed it by its throat.

"You stupid dog! That thing you swallowed wasn't food!" He shouted, pulling the dog in the cage and fighting with it. "What're we gonna do?" she muttered, burying her face in her hands. "Oi! You people! Don't do anything to Shushu!" An unfamiliar voice shouted off in the distance, making her look up. There stood an awkward looking man with crazy white curly hair, homemade armor, shorts, and sandals.

"Shushu?"

"Who're you old man?"

"I'm the villages leader! Or in other words, the chief!" The old man declared, smiling. Kya laughed lightly. "Old man, you can't be serious? There's no one here." She said to him, standing up. He walked forward, staring her down hard. "You know nothing missy! You can't talk about us like that! There may be few of us, but we stick together! Ever since Buggy invaded our little town we've been hiding out on the other side." He said sadly and she huffed, looking away. "When it comes to life or death situations, everyone is on their own." she muttered and he growled. "Don't say such things! We're like family here!"

"Even family can turn on you." she answered boredly, crossing her arms across her chest. He sighed. "There's no hope for you is there?" He whispered, and she turned away, only making him sigh again. "You're bleeding." he pointed out to Zoro, who chuckled. "I'm fine. Just a small wound."

"Small wound! Kid your guts are gonna fall out!"

"I'm alright."

"Nonsense. Come with me."

"No."

"Zoro, get your ass up." She finally said, annoyed by his constant ego. He looked up at her, frowning. "I said I'm fi-" "Fine. I know. Get up and let the man help you." He stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "Alright." He gave in, and she bent over to help him off the ground. "Where do you want me to take him?" she asked, throwing the swordsman's arm over her shoulder. He groaned as she lifted him off the ground, leaning onto her. _'He's a lot heavier than I thought he would be.'_ She grimaced to herself as she followed the old man into the building next door.

"I have some bandages, I'll wrap him up for you." He offered as she laid him down on a small bed in the upstairs bedroom. "Thank you." she mumbled, going over to a chair on the side of the room. She felt slightly bad for being so hard on the old man. She hadn't really meant it, she was just a little annoyed with the whole ordeal here. She was never one to stay in a place for long. Her body itched to move on, to go to the next island. Thought, _**if**_ they made it to Grand Line, she most likely wouldn't be with them long.

"Hello?"

She jumped back as the old man waved his hand in front of her face. "H-huh?" She muttered, looking at him with a confused expression. He frowned and headed towards the door. "You looked lost for a second. I wanted to make sure you were still with us. I wrapped your friend up. Will you be staying here?"

Nodding lightly, she stood up and grabbed her chair. "Ya. Uhm, thanks by the way." she murmured, still slightly embarrassed about before. "No problem. Check on you guys later." He said before closing the door behind him.

"You don't like this do you?" Zoro said to her as she situated herself by his bed. She sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bed and held her face in her hands. "I'm not used to traveling with people I guess." He laughed lightly before putting his hand on his head. "You'll get used to it."

It wasn't long before he was out cold, leaving her with no one to talk to in the room. "Idiot. Going and almost getting himself killed. Again. What have I gotten myself into?" She wondered out loud, looking at the older man who lay in the bed snoring loudly. He didn't really care what he did, as long as he became the greatest swordsman ever. He really was an idiot.

Sitting in a room listening to a snoring man became quite boring after a half an hour, so Kya decided to wake him up. She poked his arm, then his shoulder, and finally his face. Nothing happened. "Oi. Get up lazy." She yelled. Nothing. "Zoro!"

Snoring.

"Wake up!"

Still, he snored away.

Finally she got fed up. "Oi! Asshole!" She said, getting up to hit him in the face, but her action was prevented by the floor giving way beneath her. A large rumbling ran through her ears, making them ring, and she hit her head against a plank. Her body ached as it hit the ground, pieces of the house falling on top of her. She felt the blood trickling down her head and her ears rung loudly.

"Hey! Zoro, Kya, are you guys still alive!"

Luffy's voice surged through her ears and made her head pound. "I'm right here baka." She coughed, pushing the debris off her. She stood up on shaky legs, holding her bloody head and smiled at her captain. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, me too. That was some bad way to wake me up." She looked over at Zoro who was sitting down in the middle of the debris, holding his head too. "Idiot. That was the only thing that could ever wake you up." She mumbled to him, but he ignored her. "What a relief! You guys are alive!" Luffy yelled at them, laughing. "And just how is it that you guys survived...?"

She looked at the thief, who was some reason still there. She opened her mouth to say something, but the chief cut her off. "It feels as though my chest is being scraped out! Do you think I'll allow pirates to trample all over us again? For a 'horse-skeleton-like-guy' who suddenly pops out, he has absolutely no right to trample all over our 40 years! I am the chief! I won't leave and let this village be treated this way!"

Kya smiled, removing her hand from her bleeding head. The guy finally grew a pair. "Alright! I'm going to fight!" he shouted, about to take off but the orange haired girl grabbed him. "W-wait a minute chief!"

"Let go of me kid!"

"Those people are dangerous! So what's the point in going? This is too reckless!"

"I know it's reckless!"

All four of them frowned as they watched the old man run off. "You just wait! Buggy the Clown!" He shouted before disappearing. "Glad he got the guts but, don't you think this is a little to steep for him?" She said and Zoro shrugged at her. "Guess we'll find out."

"The chief...was crying..." The other girl muttered quietly. "Oh really? I didn't see anything." Luffy told her, smiling. "For some reason, this is starting to feel more fun." Zoro added in.

"Hehehehe. I agree."

"I just hope this is all over soon."

"How can you still laugh!"

"Don't worry! I like that old man! I'm not going to let him die!"

"How can you still laugh in this kinda situation! Where the hell does your confidence come from!" The girl cried at Luffy, who simply smiled at her. "Our destination is the Grand Line. Now we're going to go steal that map again! Will you join us?" He held his hand out for her. "You need the map too don't you? And the treasure?"

"I'm not going to become a pirate!" She smacked his hand away. "Rather than 'partners' let's just say that we're cooperating. Helping each other achieve our goals." Kya sighed and helped Zoro to his feet. "Let's get going." She said as they walked over to Luffy. "You guys are going too? What about you're injuries!" The girl yelled at them "It's all healed." Zoro said simply to her, untying the bandana around his arm. "What injury?" Kya asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "More important than the injury done to my body, is the injury my name suffers because all I did in my last fight was get hurt. Should we go?" He said, tying the green fabric around his head. Luffy cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Yeah, lets go."

"I'm dumbfounded..." The girl slapped her face as they began walking. "You'll get used to it." Kya smiled at her, holding out her hand. "Kya." The girl shook it hesitantly. "Nami." she answered lightly. "You don't seem like a pirate..." She added, then looked at Zoro. "And he definitely wasn't a pirate." Kya only laughed at her. "I wasn't. I was an assassin. And Zoro was a bounty hunter. Luffy saved our lives and now, here we are."

They walked in silence for a while, until they heard shouting coming from the building directly ahead of them. "There he is." Nami said quietly, and Luffy growled. "I won't let him hurt the chief!" he shouted before running forwards. The three of them followed in pursuit as he ran up to the chief, who was being held by the throat by Buggy's floating hand. "I've kept my promise...I've come to beat you!" Luffy shouted loudly, removing the hand and grabbing the chief by his armor.

_'This is a waste of time.'_ Kya thought boredly, placing her hands on her hips as she stared up at the circus like crew. "So you come without a single trace of fear by your own will!" Buggy shouted, connecting his hand back. "You morons! You're all so dead!"

Nami turned to her and Zoro, pointing accusingly. "Listen, I don't care whether you fight or not, you guys do as you wish. I'm just here for the map and treasure." She said sternly. "Ya, ya. We got it." Kya waved her off and Zoro only grunted, his hands placed deeply in his pockets.

"All of you..." the chief said suddenly, standing up shakily. "What did you come here for? You four just stay out of this! This is my war! I'm the one who must protect this village! Don't interfere!" He began to lunge at them, but was stopped by Luffy, who shoved the poor man's face into the wall.

Kya slapped a hand to her face, watching the bleeding man fall to the ground. "Well, he didn't have to go that far." She muttered, and Zoro chuckled at her. "You! You idiot! What the hell was that for? Why did you do that to the chief!" Nami yelled, her face red in anger.

"Cause he would get in the way." Luffy answered simply, his eyes set on Buggy. Kya was starting to understand him now. He couldn't sit by a let people he cared about, even if he's known them for mere hours, get hurt. When he's made up his mind, he's made up his mind. There was no stopping him.

"That was smart thinking. If you had left him alone, without a doubt, he would've charged recklessly. It's safer for him to be unconscious." Zoro spoke. Though it didn't seem like he cared all that much. She punched him in the shoulder, causing a strong glare from the swordsman. "Don't encourage him." She muttered.

"Don't do anything unnecessary!" Nami yelled, but her voice was ignored by the strong willed young man. "Hey you, huge, red, ugly, big nose!" He shouted and everyone froze. "Baka. Baka. Baka. Baka. Baka. Baka." Kya muttered over and over again, slamming her still bloody forehead into her palm."We're screwed." Zoro muttered to her, his voice strained, and she sighed. "All we can do now is not get killed."

"Fire the Buggy-Special-Cannon-Ball!"

Her face fell. "Shit. Luffy, if we die I swear-" He cut her off. "Don't worry, Kya-chan. I won't let you guys die." He said happily at her and she only sighed, standing behind him. "You better not. Or I'll haunt you for the rest of your life if I do."

"Be gone!"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed idiot?" Nami shouted, running off to the side. "Oi! Luffy, dodge it!" Zoro chimed in, his face finally fading to worry. Kya didn't say anything, only stepped back a couple of inches, her arms crossed over her chest as the cannon ball flew towards him. "Do you think just because of a cannon ball, I'll move a single inch? Gomu Gomu no... Balloon!"

Her eyes widened slightly as Luffy inflated three times his size, catching the cannon ball in his stomach . _'He could've at least said something...'_ She thought to herself, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "What the hell is that kid?" "Could the Buggy-Special-Cannon-Ball...?"

"He bounced it back!"

Sure enough, the large metal ball was sent flying back to where it came from. "Could've said something sooner." She heard Zoro mutter from her side. She knew he got as annoyed as she did sometimes. "Yay! There number has decreased! Shall we start!" Luffy shouted, returning to his original size. She simply walked up behind him and hit him on the back of the head. "Idiot, you could've gotten yourself killed!" She yelled in a caring tone and he smiled at her, rubbing his hurt head.

"What the hell are you?" Nami shouted as she fell to her knees. _'Oh, she hasn't realized it yet? Is she stupid or something?'_ Kya thought boredly, looking back at the orange haired girl as Zoro spoke. "So much for blowing us up..."

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. :) I appreciate it. Sorry this chapter is slightly boring, but it will get better! I promise! **


	6. Simple Things

**Chapter 6**

"**The glutton castaway, the drunkard in the desert, the lecher in prison, they are the happy ones. To hunger, thirst, lust, every day afresh and every day in vain, after the old prog, the old booze, the old whores, that's the nearest we'll ever get to felicity, the new porch and the very latest garden."-Samuel Beckett**

* * *

The four members of Luffy's pirate crew stood in a line, staring in amazement at the destroyed house Buggy and his pirate crew had been standing on top off. "Explain yourself! I don't understand this at all! From the moment you fought with a lion and came back alive!This isn't humanly possible!" Nami yelled, getting in the young boy's face. "How the hell did you swell up like a balloon?"

"He fought a lion?" Kya muttered to Zoro, who stood with his arms across his chest. He shrugged at her. "I know nothing." He answered making her sigh. This boy was sure going to be a headache. "Gomu Gomu no Balloon." Luffy smiled at Nami, who only got more angry. "I'm not asking you for the name!"

A deep chuckling drew their attention back to the aftermath of the cannon ball, and they saw two men who seemed dead along with a lion. "You're chatting around making a lotta noise, like you're not scared." The voice said. _'That's definitely Buggy.' _Kya growled in her mind, as the two men were dropped to the ground revealing Buggy. "This is the biggest humiliation we've ever received under our pirate, Captain." A new voice said, and she looked behind the lion to see some guy with green hair, half long and half braided. He wore a purple open jacket with white pants and scarf around his neck. He wasn't half bad looking, but he was still a little weird. "I'm so mad words fail me..." Buggy muttered to him, a strange look on his face.

"Dammit...I was unconscious...What is this mess?" A new figure muttered, crawling out of the rumble. He looked like he had on a white hat with fluffy ears, but the fur was also around his chest. A large rumbling came from the area next to him, and large man popped out of the debris. He was tall, taller than Buggy, and his muscles were bigger than Zoro's. "Argh! My head!" He grumbled in a somewhat slow voice.

"So many new characters are showing up today." Kya muttered out loud, placing her hands on her hips. _'This should be interesting.'_ She thought as the green haired one spoke. "Mohji... Lewis...So you're still alive?" He drawled out. "Cabaji! You! What the heck did you do to Ritchie?" the fluffy one, Mohji, shouted angrily as Cabaji threw the lion on the ground. "Ah this kitten? I was afraid my clothes might get a little dirty, so I just used him as my shield."

Mohji fawned over his injured pet, while Lewis laughed loudly in his deep voice, then turned to Cabaji angrily but stopped when he saw Luffy. "Ehck! The kid in the straw hat! Captain be careful with that kid! The kid's also one who has gained powers from the Devil's Fruit! He's a rubber man!" He shouted and Nami turned towards her new captain. "Rubber man?" She gasped and Luffy smiled and pulled his cheeks. "Yeah, wanna see?" he asked and Kya chuckled lightly. _'What a baka little boy.'_

"Devil's Fruit?" Buggy drawled out angrily. "That's why he can bounce back the Buggy-Special-Cannon-Ball!" Mohji said to him, only making him angrier. "But Mohji...If you knew that already. Why the heck didn't you tell me so earlier?" Buggy shouted, slinging his crew member away from him.

"Get out of the way!"

Luffy smirked, and moved his body sideways, getting ready to kick. "You get out of the way." He said simply before kicking the fluffy man in the face almost hitting Nami. "The fight has begun!" He added as the man hit the building.

"Buggy's pirate fleet's Commander 'Cabaji the Acrobat'! I'll avenge the pain you caused my crew!" Kya turned to see the other man riding a unicycle towards them, his sword pointed straight at Luffy. "What kind of man talks about himself in third person like that..." She muttered as Zoro stopped the attack with one sword. "If it's swords I'm all for it." He said darkly. "It's an honor, Roronoa Zoro...As a swordsman I get to slay you." Cabaji answered in the same tone.

She watched in slight horror as blood began to drip out of Zoro's bandages. She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Look Zoro, I think it's better if one of us does this. Why don't you go rest?" She said to him, her voice soaked in care.

"Acrobat technique 'Fire Trick'!"

She cried out in pain as Cabaji blew fire in Zoro's face, burning her hand in the process. She fell backwards and watched, as if almost in slow motion, while Cabaji kicked Zoro right in his wound. He flew to the ground, blood flying everywhere while the devilish man laughed. "Eh, what's this? I didn't even kick you that hard, did I?" He chuckled only making her angry. "You dirty bastard! Kicking someone's wound!" She shouted, standing up and clutching her burnt hand. "Commander...Is this girl giving you a hard time?" A slow voice drawled, and she glared at Lewis as he made his way up to the five of them.

"In fact, yes. Yes she is Lewis. Would you mind taking care of her?"

"Anything for you Commander."

Kya jumped in front of Zoro, glaring at the larger man. She was easily three times smaller than he, and obviously a lot less muscular. But she could take him. "K-Kya! Are you sure you can take him? He's huge!" Nami shouted, her eyes shaking in fear. "Don't worry Nami. Kya's got this." Luffy said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kya smiled at him. At least someone had faith in her.

"I don't know how I feel about hurting such a cute girl..." The large man scratched his head. She studied him carefully. Long white hair, blue eyes, no shirt and a ripped pair of shorts. He was quite a...sight. At the least. She sighed. "Can we just get this over with?"

She jumped as his large hand came towards her, which was about as tall as her. She grabbed his pointer finger and swung herself over it, kicking the back of his hand. She watched as it went flying, swinging around and hitting his own face.

"You bitch!" He cried, raising his fists up in the air. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Let's go already." She mumbled, shaking her burning hand. She needed ice, and fast. Or else it would scar up pretty bad.

Her eyes widened in horror as the man who could possibly weigh as much as a two-story building break down into at least ten replicas of himself, each as tall as her. She blinked, hoping she wasn't on some type of drug. "Wh-Whoa! Cooooollll~!" she heard Luffy cry out behind her. The ten mini-Lewis' laughed, their voices sounding like little mice. "I ate the Mini Mini Fruit! Feel the wrath of our power!" They all yelled, making her want to giggle.

She hadn't expected them to lunge so quickly at her, and she jumped on one their heads then onto the building next to them. "After her!" They yelled, bulldozing into the building and it gave way beneath her. "Kya!" She heard someone yell as she jumped to the next building, but she couldn't quite make it out. She jumped over into the next street and the ten little men lined up side by side laughing at her. "You're in for it now!" They yelled, charging together. _'Shit. I can't take them on all together like this!'_ She thought, panicked. The one in the middle jumped at her and she kicked him in the face, sending him flying backwards. Two more grabbed her ankles and she gasped looking down. She couldn't even move them.

"You're in for it now bitch!"

A large hand hit her stomach, sending her flying backwards. She felt the blood flowing from her mouth and nose as she hit the pavement, and her wound on her head opened up again. "We did it!" Lewis (or Lewis') yelled, jumping around. She pushed herself up on shaky arms, glaring at them. Oh, they were in for it.

She pulled some needles from her bag out and put a few in her mouth. "Are you done with your silly games now?" she said lowly, pulling her dagger out. They all laughed at her. "Games? Who's playing games!"

With a short breath, she watched as two of them fell to the ground, there bodies limp. Not dead, just severely injured. The rest of them froze, staring in horror. She smirked, chuckling darkly. "Who's next?"

Two more lunged at her and she flicked her wrist. They too fell to the ground, unable to move. She threw her dagger, hitting another right in the chest. Blood sprayed around them and he fell. The last five growled and ran after her.

_'There's still so many.'_ She thought bitterly, flipping backwards and dodging their hits. Her body moved gracefully, like a petal in the wind. It was as if she had no weight at all. She praised herself for having such natural balance and suave. It had saved her life so many times throughout these years.

She kicked one in the jaw, and with a loud crack, he flew backwards, leaving only four. "I'll get you for this!" One shouted as he charged at her, yelling unnecessary and she punched him in the face sending him flying backwards. She was surprised at even her own strength sometimes; but she remembered it was what she was trained to do.

She flipped backwards as another one's hand came into contact with the ground, sending shards of gravel everywhere, pieces hitting and cutting her. Her arms gave out, sending her crashing into the ground. _'So weak...'_ she thought angrily. Her body still hadn't yet recovered from the past month and a half. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out more needles, hitting two more of the mini Lewis'.

"There's only one of you left." She breathed, smiling. He growled. "I can still beat you!" He shouted, coming towards her. She slid her body and kicked her leg up, her foot colliding with his face. Her other foot came behind the back of his head and she twisted his neck. With a bone chilling snap his body lay limp and he fell. She pushed her weight onto her hands and pushed herself into the air, landing on her feet. Strands of her light pink flew into her face as she looked at the disaster she created. If she were anyone else, she would be calling herself a monster. A demon. But she was Kya. And she didn't care.

With swift steps she made her way over to one of them; the one with the dagger in his chest. She grabbed its handle and yanked it from its place, spewing blood over her and the ground. "Gilded Silence..." She murmured out loud, studding the magnificent weapon. It was double sided, and the blade was about seven inches long. The hilt was a shimmery silver covered in gold designs. "The blade that doesn't make a sound." She said as she placed the bloody object back in its rightful place. _'Now, it's time to find Luffy.'_

It didn't take long for her to find the crew; all she had to do was listen for shouting. What she didn't expect to find was Zoro sleeping soundly in the middle of the road, Luffy's hat floating in the air with three knives sticking out of it (due to Buggy's floating hand) and Nami watching with wide eyes. Luffy's face was red with anger as Buggy's hand flew back to him, hat still in tow. "What sort of treasure is this rag-like hat?" He laughed.

It was silent for a moment, but Kya could feel the rage coming off Luffy as he turned around and ran straight for the clown. "That is the hat I swore myself to with Shanks!" He yelled, reaching his leg back to hit the other captain. "What? This is Shanks' hat! I thought it looked familiar!" Buggy replied, throwing the clothing item to the ground.

"Me and that guy used to be in the same pirate ship...To rephrase that. He was my comrade when we were still pirate trainees!" He added as Luffy steamed with anger. "What a small world..." Kya muttered to the air as she went and sat cross legged next to the snoring swordsman. "Shanks was a great man! You say that he was your comrade?" Buggy's head popped off as Luffy came closer. "Don't compare yourself with him!" But it was of no use. Luffy's foot collided with the annoying man's stomach, sending him backwards.

She watched as Buggy slid back and Luffy followed after him. She could tell he was shouting, probably about the hat, and jumped on Buggy before beating the shit out of him. She couldn't really hear him, her senses were fading slightly. She needed water, and fast. Falling on her back, she looked up at the sky. The sun shone brightly through the clouds and she sighed. "I want to go to the sky."

"Why are you talking to yourself baka?" Zoro strained, making her laugh lightly. "I wasn't talking to myself. I was talking to nobody." She answered, tilting her head to look at him. He frowned. "Your face is all cut up." He murmured. "And your guts are falling out." She retorted sarcastically. "You're annoying. I'm going back to sleep." "Whatever makes you happy."

"So that's why I promised myself if I can't get anything from under the sea then I'd settle for every treasure above it! With this Devil's Fruit powers!"

Kya sat up slowly at Buggy's annoying voice to see him, well half of him, floating in the air. _'Sure is a weird ass Devil Fruit ability.'_ She thought to herself before Buggy kept on talking. "Because of that whoever touches my treasure...Whoever that is I never...Leave them alive!" He turned his floating body away from Luffy and her eyes widened as she saw Nami walking around with a bag full of treasures. "Nami!"

"Put my treasure down! Since when did you think you could fool me Nami! Let me send you painfully into the Netherworld!"

Kya stood up quickly, despite her aching body, as she watched in horror. Buggy's armed body headed towards the thief. "I'm not giving you a single thing!" Nami shouted, clutching the bag dearly. That's when Buggy's upper half just...stopped and fell to the ground. She looked at Luffy and started laughing heartedly. His leg was between Buggy's lower half, hitting him directly in the place men cared about the most. _'For a stupid kid he sure is smart.'_

"D..Damn Gomu Gomu kid! Dare to kick my bottom half!"

"You're opponent is still me!" Luffy shouted before turning to Nami. "Oi! Put that treasure down and go somewhere safe! You're going to get chased otherwise!" He yelled. Kya sighed and fell to the ground on her butt again. It wouldn't be too long before Luffy would be done and they could-

"You bitch!"

Moving her fist up to the side of her head, she blocked the piece of wood directed at her. It shattered into shards on impact, allowing them to fall over Zoro's body. "You're not dead yet?" She yelled back at the white haired man, who was bleeding profusely and panting. It was only two of them, but they both looked like hell. She stood up against her body's wishes and glared at them. "We'll get you for this!"

She walked closer to them, shaking her head. "Do you guys ever learn?" She muttered, placing a hand on her head and hip. One of them growled, "Watch this!" Their two bodies began shaking and morphed together, forming Lewis again but only slightly bigger. "Now we're one!" He said, his voice only a little deeper. She snorted. "And?"

He brought his fists up in the air and hit the ground, making it break apart in a line straight towards her. She jumped in the air, but was stopped by a large hand around her leg. She gasped. _'He's quick!'_ She thought as her body was flung into the nearest building.

"Dammit." She muttered, rubbing her bloody head as she pushed the debris off her. She needed to step her game up now. Her body was tired and in pain. These guys were just a thorn in her side. "Alright, listen up. You're annoying. And I'm tired of dealing with you. So let's just get this over shall we?" she smirked, wiping the blood from her mouth. He laughed. "You'll be the first to-" A piece wood collided with his face, sending him sliding.

"What was that?" she shouted, walking out of the hole in the building. Lewis groaned, slowly getting up off the ground, his body shaking. "For such a cute girl, you're such a bitch." He laughed, turning to face her. She smirked and lunged at him, fist ready. She was about a foot away from him, fist almost colliding with his face, when his body split in two, becoming two Lewis' again. They elbowed her in the stomach at the same time, chuckling in her ear as she fell to the ground.

"You think you can beat us?"

These guys were really starting to piss her off. She was getting angrier by the second. Standing up slowly, her body quivering with resistance, she glared at the man. "I'm really getting tired of you." She spat, making them smirk. "And what are you going to do about it?" They laughed, slapping each others shoulders. "You're so weak! I could-"

They didn't have time to finish talking before she grabbed both their heads and slammed them into each other. They made some weird, pitiful sound, before falling to the ground at her feet. "Whaaa! Kya you're so coool~!" She looked up to see Luffy clapping his hands above his head. She chuckled. "You finish your fight?" He nodded and skipped over to the still sleeping Zoro. _'How could he sleep through all this?'_ she sighed to herself before stepping over the two bodies and over to the three other crew members.

"Oi, Zoro. Get up. Let's go." He slapped the swordsman on the back of the head, making him sit up slowly. "Did you finish the fight?" He asked, oblivious to his surroundings. "Yeah. We also got the map and some treasure!" Luffy answered, smiling. Zoro groaned lightly and placed his head in his hands. "Aah. I don't even think I can walk yet." He muttered.

"Obviously! If you guys can still walk then you aren't even human!" Nami stated, clutching her precious treasure, making Kya laugh lightly. "Why'd you include me?" Luffy whined, looking a little hurt. "You're the weirdest of them all!"

He simply ignored the girl and looked a the Chief, who was still passed out. "Oh yeah! I'll go wake the chief up." He went to skip over to the man, but was interrupted by rude voices. "You guys..." Kya looked over to see a group people with various weapons, glaring at them "Looks like we got company." She muttered.

"We're the people of this village. Did the pirates stir up a fight amongst themselves? If you know anything, please tell us." The man in the front of the group said and Nami stepped forward to intervene. "Oh... so you're the villagers. I think some of the pirate crew are still here. If you want us to tell you then there isn't much left to tell you-"

"The chief!"

The villagers hurried over to their fallen leader, begging for him to get up and asking for answers. "Ah sorry. I did that to the chief." Kya smacked her face with her hand. _'Idiot. He's an idiot. The biggest idiot in the world.'_ She thought as Nami yelled. "Hey! Why did you tell them that kind of thing on purpose!"

"You saw me do it right...?" He still looked at Nami oblivious as the villagers growled and pointed their weapons at them. "All of you, how dare you do this to our chief!" "It doesn't matter what excuse you give us!" "Who the hell are you? Could you be pirates?"

"We are pirates."

Kya's hand hit her face again, this time harder. "So you are!" The villagers shouted, lunging towards them. Zoro only laughed while Nami shouted at Luffy, who was still oblivious to the situation he put them in. "Yosh! Let's run away!" He said, grabbing the wounded Zoro off the ground and the four took off, the shouting villagers behind them.

"Why the hell did you make the situation more complicated?" Nami shouted angrily. "This is a good village." He put it simply, making Kya look at him strangely. "For their chief, for just one person, they're all getting that mad. No matter what excuse we give, they'll still be mad at us." He smiled as they turned down an alleyway. The dog, Shushu, was sitting in the middle of the street, and Kya almost tripped over him. "What's he doing?" She shouted, regaining her composure.

"Shushu?"

"Ahh! That dog!"

Shushu began barking at the villagers, making them stop dead in their tracks. Thanks to the white dog, they got away safely to the where their boats were docked. "Was getting pretty worried. Thanks to Shushu we barely got away. Why does it always end up this way?" Nami muttered as they slowed to a walk. "Who cares what they think! We did what we came to do!"

"Well, it's not quite like that..."

Kya chuckled to herself before turning around to look at the buildings behind them. Luffy was right. This was a good village. It made her slightly upset to know Buggy came here and completely destroyed the town. All they had left was hope. It reminded her a little of home... How he came and just-

"We have been waiting for you, thief!"

"You guys are..." Nami trailed off making Kya chuckle lightly to herself. It was those idiots her and Zoro had picked up along the way here. "We knew you'd come back if we stayed here." "Hehehehe. I never dreamed that we'd see this boat again in this very harbor after you stole it!" "You won't be able to say that you've forgotten us!"

"You know them?" She heard Luffy asked, his brain was probably very confused right now. "Hmmm. Sort of!" Nami answered a little too quickly. "'Sort of'? We have a long history! Oh, so you have a gang now? I guess we get to teach you all a lesson!"

Kya decided it was her time to intervene now. She watched as the one with the cross bone hat walked up to Zoro and Luffy. "Stealing from others is such a terrible thing to do. Hahaha, man, don't faint like a coward stupid! Hey, hold your head up properly!" he shouted, slapping Zoro on the back of the head. She walked up next to Luffy, chuckling as Zoro looked up. The three idiotic Buggy pirates looked at her then back to the swordsman before screaming and flailing back into the ocean. She only shook her head and jumped into their small little boat. "What was that...?" Luffy muttered, looking at her. She shrugged. "Nothing. Give me Zoro and untie the boat." He nodded, handing the barely conscious man over to her.

"You okay?" She placed a hand on his forehead lightly. "You don't really have a fever." She added, laying him down on the boat. "I'm fine." He muttered, swatting her hand away. She chuckled lightly. "I'll stitch you up when we get out farther, okay?" "Hn."

"Okay! Let's go!"

Luffy jumped onto their boat, while Nami hoped into the boat next to them with Buggy's Jolly Roger on it. "That flag has Buggy's mark on it!" She sighed, annoyed with his stupidity. "It was those pirates' boat so of course it does. I'll erase it later."

"Stop right there you morons!"

All four of them looked over to see the Chief panting heavily by the docks. "What a polite way to greet someone." Kya muttered, making Zoro snort next to her. "I'm sorry! I owe you!" The curly haired man shouted, tears flowing from his eyes as the pirates took off. She smiled lightly and waved at him as Luffy shouted. "Don't worry about it! Just live happy lives!" Kya smiled and leaned back against the railing of the boat.

"Here we go again."


	7. Island of Misfits

**Chapter 7**

**"To understand the present, examine the past; without the past there would be no present."- Unknown Author**

* * *

"What? You left the treasure?"

Kya chuckled, watching Nami fumed at Luffy. She leaned over the railing, one arm extended as she trailed her fingers across the water and the other holding her head. The sea was calm (excluding her idiot crew members) and the sky was glowing with beauty. Though she was stuck on a tiny ship, she didn't mind the open waters much.

"I gave you half of it didn't I? That's five million beli!"

"Ya but since half the village was destroyed it will take some money to repair it."

"That's my treasure!"

"Stop it! I can't swim! If you want it so badly you can go back and take from them!"

"How could I do that? If you ever do that again then you're dead!"

She sighed at her never-ending peace interrupting crew. She shook her head as Nami almost threw the young captain over board, making the two boats rock viciously. Zoro laughed heartedly from his seat next to her. "You're going to pop your stitches if you keep laughing like that." She grumbled, flicking her sea water covered fingers at him. "Oi, woman. Shuttup. You're a mood killer." He stuck his tongue out at her. She chuckled lightly at him and faced back out to sea as Nami and Luffy began arguing again. "Baka." The orange haired girl laughed, and Luffy glared at her. "What are you laughing at?" She hit him on the head. "Shuttup!"

"That doesn't hurt!"

The young girl sighed and grabbed his broken hat. "Let me fix it up for you." she muttered, and he giggled like a little kid. "Nami's fixing my hat~! Nami's fixing my hat~!" He sang happily and Kya smiled lightly at him. Oh how she would give anything to be so young and carefree again. Where nothing bad ever seemed to matter for more than a few minutes.

"If you think any harder your brain is gonna come out of your ears." The green haired man poked her temple, making her sigh. "Keep bugging me and you won't live to see another day." She threatened, eying him in her peripheral. One of these days, she would kill him. One of these days. He only laughed at her and poked her temple again. "You're too uptight, Kya-chan." She grabbed his finger swiftly. "_**Don't**_ call me that." She growled and his mouth formed into a thin line. "Why not?" He pulled his finger back and she looked away from him. Now wasn't the time to ask questions. He shrugged and moved away from her, laying on the floor where he instantly fell asleep. She shook her head, but couldn't help but laugh. That man was going to be the death of her.

"It's fixed!"

She turned to sit on her backside, staring as Luffy practically danced around with his hat in his hand. "I just mended the cuts. I think that should do it. Just try not to poke it too much." Nami said from her boat, putting away her needle and thread. Sure enough, he ignored her and began poking the top of the hat. "Right! Right! Thanks! You did a great job fixing my hat!" Kya could her the rip of Luffy's finger going through the straw hat. "Ooooh!"

"Didn't you listen to what I just said!" The navigator poked him in the head with her needle. "Stop poking me with that needle! It hurts!" He cried out, flailing his arms. "it's useless if I hit you so I have to sue the needle!" She seethed, and Kya just leaned her head back, focusing on the peaceful sky. "Ah! That makes sense!"

"You guys are too noisy. I can't sleep. Hey I'm hungry." The swordsman grumbled, sitting up and wiping his eye. "Well aren't you just a a sleeping beauty." She scoffed, but he ignored her and turned to Nami. "Share us some food!" He demanded, and she sighed. "Oh please!" She chastised. "You need to be more prepared. You don't bring food or water and you dare to go to sea; you underestimated it!"

"Ah! I see something!" Luffy shouted, staring off into the distance and, per usual, ignoring Nami. Kya caught the apple that was flying towards. "It's a miracle you've surprised up until now!" She ignored Nami's ranting, as it was quiet annoying. "There's always a way!" Zoro chimed, happily munching on a piece of bread. "Hey there's an island!" She looked the way Luffy was, and sure enough, there lay a small island. "That island's no good." Nami scolded, looking through her binoculars. " It's unpopulated, so it's useless. Let's keep going."

And did anyone ever listen to Nami?

"Wait!"

"Let's see if we can find someone who would join us there." Luffy sang, rowing the boat towards the small island. Kya scooted over and leaned back against the mast, throwing her legs over Zoro's who was leaned across the boat. She happily took a bite of her apple, its sweet nectar filling her taste buds. Oh how she loved apples... "And let's look for food too. You know, Nami was right. We seem to have no plans!"

Sighing she looked at the sky. "And we're not dead yet." She muttered, and Luffy laughed. "Don't be so down Kya-chan. We've got new adventures ahead of us!" He shouted as Nami caught up to them. "Hey! You let him call you Kya-chan!" Zoro added in, frowning at her. She waved him off, taking another bite of her apple. "You're annoying." His eye twitched angrily at her and he opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Nami. "What do you think you're doing?" She cried, her arms flailing in the air. Luffy smirked at her. "We're going to explore!"

Eventually, they reached island in one piece; though a certain swordsman was passed out under Kya's legs. She simply shook her head, still munching on her apple. "We've reached the isolated island! There's nothing here but forest!" Luffy stated the obvious before he jumped off the boat onto the island. "Like I said, this is an unpopulated island! It would be weird if you found someone for the crew here." Nami said, annoyed with her new captain.

"Hey Zoro, Kya! Come over here!"

She cocked her head to the side, looking at the island. "He's asleep." She said simply, and the young boy bit his lip in annoyance. He started to charge towards the boat, but Nami grabbed him by the shirt. "Let him sleep. He's still injured." She scolded him, and he nodded. "You're right. Well let's go!"

Kya finished the last of her apple and tossed it to the side. She looked down at the sleeping man and sighed, tapping her chin with her skinny finger. "Maybe I should go find them...or maybe I should just explore." She removed her legs and stood up, knowing whatever movement she made would not wake the insanely heavy sleeper. Swiftly she jumped from the bow to the sand, the breeze blowing her pink and black locks around her face. "Let's explore."

Kicking the sand lightly as she walked to the forest, she couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling. She shrugged it off, but it stuck in her spine. Maybe she shouldn't have left Zoro alone... "Squawk!" Looking down, she saw the weirdest creature she'd ever seen. It was a...cat but with a duck bill and webbed feet. Unsurely, she bent down next to it, petting the top of its head. It purred lightly, pushing against her hand. She smiled lightly; for such a strange creature it was awfully cute.

"This is the last place anyone would have expected you to be."

Hairs rose up along the back of her neck and her body went rigid. The duck like cat hissed and took off into the woods, leaving the two humans alone. "Why are you here?" Her voice was almost like a choke and the man moved closer to her. "You know why. Did you really think you could hide from us?" He chuckled darkly, and she stood up to face him. His black eyes were cold and empty; illuminating the large scar that ran across his nose. His black hair framed his square face and stopped at his broad shoulders. He wore a dark tank top and white shorts; a belt lined along his waist with a dagger and gun.

She growled as he moved towards her, a smile played on his thin lips. "Well I certainly know you aren't here to say hello Ron." her words were laced in malice as she backed up into a tree. He shook his head and slowly pulled out his dagger. "Seven years you've evaded us. Seven long years we've searched for our best assassin. And now we find you here, in a pirate crew no less?" he tsked and waved the shiny blade in front of her face. "Looks like I'll have to take them out my-"

"No! Don't touch them!"

Her cry caught him off guard and he shot a disapproving look. "Shame. Niro and Sora would not be proud of you for getting attached to people." He inched closer and she growled. "What the hell would they know? They're cold heartless people!" She shouted, making him laugh. "Imagine if they heard this. What do you think would be done to you?" She winced at the ideas, but shook her head. "It doesn't matter what they do to me. Don't hurt them."

"You're lucky, being betrothed to Sora-sama and being Niro-san's best student. I would have killed you by now."

"Where is everyone else?"

"Why do you suddenly care?"

"I don't. I just remember the five other assholes on the boat."

Ron sighed, placing his free hand on the side of her head and leaning his face close to hers. "Why did you leave us, dear?" He said quietly, his voice sickeningly sweet. She shivered under his breath and frowned deeply. "Because you are monsters." And with that she brought her arm back, sending her fist into his face. She felt his cool blood splatter over her face lightly as he flew back through the tree. _'I hope Luffy and Nami are back by the boats. We need to leave.'_ She thought hurriedly as she took off out of the forest. If Ron was here then that meant _they_ knew where she was. If they made it over the Grand Line... She shook her head. She couldn't think of that yet. Maybe if she left, they wouldn't hurt the crew. Then everything would be alright.

Sighing in relief, she slowed her stride as Luffy, Nami and the boats came into view. The boats were still there, and so was Zoro. There was also what looked like a walking treasure chest with an afro surrounded by misfit animals. But maybe she was just seeing things.

"Aha! Come on Kya! We're leaving now!" Luffy waved happily at her as she walked up to them, but stopped when he saw her face. "Kya! You're bleeding!" he said suddenly, taking her face into his hands. She pulled away from him, smiling lightly. "It's not mine. Sorry for holding you up. Let's get going." He nodded, his face stern, before turning to the human in the treasure chest. "Gaimon this is Kya. She's our assassin!" The man in the treasure chest gave a toothy(or maybe toothless) smile at her. "How do you do?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows slightly. She gave a curt nod, ignoring his childish behavior, and ran a hand over her face to wipe away the blood.

"I'm sure you'll find good companions for your crew!" Gaimon began to say loudly as the crew took off. "And also find One Piece, then buy the whole world!" Luffy laughed at him. "That's right! I can do it! See ya!" And then they were off, heading for the Grand Line again. "So...Kya." Nami started slowly, and the pink haired girl shot her a look. She didn't want to talk about it. They didn't need to know.

"Ah...Where are we?"

The three of them turned and glared at Zoro, who yawned loudly. "Baka, we just left an island. You slept the whole time." Kya said, rolling her eyes at him before leaning back against the railing. "Oh...Was it any fun?" he turned his attention to the captain, who grinned like an idiot and clapped his feet together. "Ya! We saw all sorts of weird animals! Then we met this guy in a treasure box named Gaimon and we helped him find these treasure chests that were on a hill. When I opened them they were empty though. I asked him to join the crew but he said he'd rather stay on the island." He said in pretty much one breath. She chuckled lightly at him and shook her head. "You can't just keep inviting people t the crew like that Luffy." She scolded and he turned to her, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh ya. And Kya came back covered in blood."

"I wasn't covered in blood!"

"Well you had blood on you!" Nami chimed in from her boat, pointing a finger at the other girl. "What happened? Did a creature attack you?" Kya shrugged her shoulders and looked at the blue sky. "Sure." "You're lying!" Nami shouted, her hands balled into fists.

"Why does it matter what happened?"

"We-Wel-Well..."

"Exactly."

"It's because you're part of our crew." Zoro said gruffly, his arms around his three swords as he sat with his legs crossed. She sighed and looked at him. "Maybe I'll tell you guys another time." She said quietly; wondering why he had made her soft so suddenly. He grunted and looked away from her. "Well as long as you'll tell us soon right?" Luffy laughed lightly, his hand over his hat. She smiled at him; her heart wrenching at the fact she might have to leave soon.

* * *

**Oh my goodness! I am so sorry about the lateness...I can't even come up with excuses! But it's summer time which means more updates! Don't worry! I'll update more often! I promise!**


	8. Pinocchio

**Chapter 8**

"**The truly scary thing about undiscovered lies is that they have a greater capacity to diminish us than exposed ones. They erode our strength, our self-esteem, our very foundation."-Cheryl Hughes**

* * *

Kya breathed in deeply as the waves crashed against the boats. She sat crossed legged with her eyes closed; finally relaxed enough to meditate. It had been weeks she had felt relaxed enough to meditate. Her crew was really quite the annoyance. Luffy never shut up; Name was always yelling and hitting; and Zoro was always asleep and snoring.

"We need to plan things more."

She let out a harsh breath as Nami spoke, ending her scarce peace. "What do you mean?" Luffy spoke as Kya opened her eyes. He was sitting on the front of the boat, and she was slightly worried he would fall. She would be the one swimming after him. "Are we going to the Grand Line like this?" Nami scoffed at him from her boat. "Oh, that's right! Although Uncle Cabbage gave us plenty of fruits, we have no meat on the ship!" The boy was hopelessly clueless. "I am not talking about the food supplies!"

"And we don't have any sake to drink either! How boring!"

The pink haired girl shot the swordsman a glare as he spoke. He was sprawled out in front of her, arms behind his head. He was so lazy; it was crazy how strong he was. She shook her head as Nami shouted, "Let's not worry about the problem of food and drink first! The place we are going, the Grand Line, is the most dangerous place in the world! Every pirate in the world wishes to get their treasure there, so we need to get a better ship first! We're also short on crew members and this ship doesn't have any equipment. No matter what you think, we can't possibly be safe."

"Oh, what do we do then?"

Kya chuckled at Luffy. He was such a kid at heart. "We have to prepare first, and plan the journeys ahead." Nami continued thoughtfully. "There's a village due north, we should go there first. First thing to do when we get there is look for a better ship."

"And eat some meat!"

"Luffy not everything is about meat." Kya spoke and the boy turned to look at her with pursed lips. "What did you say?" He drawled out and she snickered. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She said, closing her eyes again. She smiled lightly as the breeze hit her face, and she could feel the calmness coming back to her. All she had to do now was clear her mind and-

"Why do you do that?"

Her smile quickly faded and she snapped her eyes open to glare at the green haired swordsman who spoke. "Why do you think?" She growled and he raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea. That's why I asked." He shot back smugly and she rolled her eyes. "I do it to keep myself centered and sane." He snorted and closed his eyes. "You sure are weird, for a kid." He muttered quietly and her fists clenched. "I'm 18 you dipshit!"

After a momentary silence, with Kya still attempting to meditate, the crew finally began to get close to the island. "Zoro, Luffy: row." Nami demanded, tossing the boys two oars. "But whyyyyyyyy?" Luffy whined, putting the wooden object in the water. "Because the wind has died down, there isn't enough to get us to shore. And we need to go slow to watch out for debris and coral." The orange haired girl nagged on. "But I'm soooo hungry." He dragged on, his tongue hanging out his mouth.

Eventually, without casualty, they made it to land. "Wow! There's really an island here!" Luffy said cluelessly as Nami jumped out of her boat. "So what did you expect? We followed the map so it wouldn't be wrong." She explained haughtily. "Oh…is there a village there?" He pointed off into the distance. Kya sighed as she made her way off the boat, nearly tripping over Zoro. "Uh huh! Looks like there's a small village there." Nami closed the map she had been looking at as Zoro and Luffy jumped out of the boat. "Been a long time since I stood on firm ground!" Zoro exclaimed, stretching and yawning. Kya rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly. "That's because you were asleep the whole time." She mumbled and he grunted in response.

"By the way…." She began, turning towards the group of people sitting behind a log staring at them. "Who are those guys?" She finished, and the four boys froze in place. The three youngest took off quickly, leaving the long nosed fellow behind. "Hey! You! Don't run away!" He shouted before slowly turning back towards the pirates and walking forwards. He had an unruly large nose, black curly hair, dark eyes, and a tan skin tone. He wore dark overalls with a scarf around his waist, large shoes, a hat, and wore a messenger-like bag. _'What an awkward kid…."_ She thought with an eyebrow raised as he spoke:

"I am the great pirate fleet leader, Usopp, who is in charge of security in this village! I'm also known as Captain, Captain Usopp! It's best if you don't try to attack this village, because my 80 million men are not going to forgive you!"

"You're lying right?" Kya said simply, crossing her arms as the boy, Usopp, made an unintelligent sound. "Waa! I've been caught!" He shouted and she shook her head. "You even said so yourself…" Nami chimed in, obviously not amused. "Argh, did I just say that? Bad planning! Bad planning indeed!" He yelled at himself as Luffy laughed loudly. "You're so funny!" He bemused, which hurt the other boy's pride. "Hey! Don't underestimate me! I am a man of high self-esteem! Everyone here calls me honorable Usopp!" He pointed at himself, obviously distraught. "Ya, ya. Whatever. Just take us to town." Kya waved him off and walked past him towards the woods. "Wh-What?"

"Ya! I'm hungry! I need meat!" Luffy chimed, skipping up behind her and throwing an arm around her shoulder. She shot him a glare but all he did was give her a genuine smile, causing her to sigh. "Oi, oi. Wait up!" Zoro shouted from behind them. "There is no need to walk so fast." He complained, catching up to them with Nami and Usopp close behind. "I'm not even walking fast, it's this idiot." Kya poked Luffy in the side and he giggled like a little kid. "Don't be so uptight." Zoro placed a hand on the girl's head. She simply waved him off and scooted closer to the younger boy. "This is why I like Luffy better." She stuck her tongue out at the swordsman, who looked hurt for a moment. "Aha! Kya-chan likes me best!" Luffy shouted triumphantly, putting a fist in the air. "Shuttup!"

"Uhm, you guys know you're going the wrong way right?"

The three pirates stopped and turned to look at Usopp (who looked awfuly confused) and Nami (who was ticked off, per usual)."Oh. Well show us the way!" Luffy shouted, marching towards the two. Nami shook her head and sighed. "How have you three made it in this world?" She muttered as Usopp began leading them towards the village.

"You never answered our question." Zoro said, pulling Kya back slightly from the others. She sighed and shot him a glare. "I told you. It was nothing. A strange animal attacked me. I got its blood all over me." She said coolly and he chuckled. "Stop lying. They told me none of the animals on the island were harmful." He said, putting his hands in his pockets as the small town came into view. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Listen, let it go. You'll know soon enough." He grumbled lightly, but didn't pester her anymore.

In silence, except for Luffy's humming, the group made it to a small tavern. Kya watched disgustedly as Luffy tore into his meat and explained to Usopp why they were there. Across from her, Zoro simply chuckled, drinking his grog, while Nami sighed next to him. "So you're looking for companions and a big ship?" Usopp asked from the end of the table. "Yup." Was the captain's reply, his mouth still stuffed to the brim with food. "Oh, sounds like a big adventure! There's only one place where you can find the stuff you want in this village…although it's not a very big ship, it's not that small either." Usopp said, gaining everyone's interest. "Where?" Nami asked for the crew, as they were all eating and drinking. "There's a mansion not far from this village that belongs to a wealthy family. That ship belongs to the mansion's owner." He continued as Luffy, Zoro, and Kya began to do their own thing. Zoro's leg accidently kicked hers, and she grabbed his sake in retaliation. "Give it back." He demanded, holding his large hand out. She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked devilishly. "No." She said simply before taking a swig. His eyebrow ticked, and he grabbed the uneaten apple from her hand. "Hey!" She protested, but he only took a large bite from it. "Hey old lady! Can I get some more apples!"

"And another plate of meat!"

"I want some more sake!"

"Are you listening to me?" Usopp shouted, annoyed his story had fallen on deaf ears but he continued anyways. Kya kicked the green haired man in the knee. "What the hell was that for?" He grumbled, glaring at her. "Taking my apple." She sung and took another sip of the stolen drink. He smirked lightly and took a big bite of the apple. She puffed her cheeks and frown. "Bastard."

"Nevermind." Nami's sudden sigh gathered everyone's attention again. "Let's forget about searching for a ship in this village. We'll go search somewhere else…." She said slowly, as if she was slightly disappointed. "Okay! But we're not in a hurry anyways; I still want some more meat! Let's buy some meat for our supply!" Luffy chimed, banging his fists on the table and smiling like an idiot. Kya chuckled and pulled his cheek as Usopp leaned towards them. "Oh yeah, you…you said earlier that you were looking for companions?" He asked slowly. "Is there somebody who wants to be our companion?"

"Let me be the captain, and I'll join you!"

Everyone's heads fell. "Nevermind." They said in unison, and Usopp deadpanned. "What kind of attitude is that?" He shouted angrily. "Luffy's the captain." Kya stated simply, pointing to the kid next to her. "So! He could be my co-captain!" The long nosed kid was relentless, and she finally waved him off as the old man brought some more apples, meat, and sake to the table. "Meat!" Luffy shouted, digging straight in. She shook her head and sighed. "So rude." She muttered, munching on a new apple. Her mind wandered off to Ron. She certainly hadn't killed the man, so he would be after her soon. Or maybe he went back over to the Grand Line with the others. Wherever he was, he was waiting for her. Along with everyone else. She could stay with the pirates until they came to her home island; there was no need for them to get involved with her problems. She had to-

"Oi, Pinky!"

She slapped the tan hand from her face and glared at Zoro. He smirked lightly to himself as he gathered up his swords. "We're leaving." He told her, and she nodded before taking one last bite of her apple. She looked around and saw the others had left. "Where did they go?" She asked him as she slid out of the booth. "Already gone. You were zoned out for a good ten minutes. I stayed back to make sure you didn't get lost." He said proudly, like he deserved an award. She scoffed at him. "We're probably already lost." She said, wiping her hands on her pants. "Hey now. No need to be so rude." He didn't even bother holding the door open for her, letting it almost smack her in the face. "Jerk." She muttered, sulking after him. He turned to laugh at her before shoving his hands in his pockets and marching forward. Sighing, she couldn't help but smile lightly. She would really miss tis crew.


	9. Idiots

**Chapter 9**

"**The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."- Leonardo da Vinci**

* * *

"Wonder where he ran off too…." Kya mumbled, sitting down on the steps of a house. The five of them had left the restaurant, when the long nose man had taken off for something. _'His nose…..it reminds me of-'_ She jumped slightly when Luffy sat down beside her, munching on some meat he had taken from the pub.

"Usopp pirate group is here!"

"Eh?" The Straw Hats stared in awe as three young kids, the kids who were with Usopp on the beach, popped out around the corner. "What?" Nami muttered, an eyebrow raised. "I don't know…..who are they?" Luffy added as they stared at the three young boys. "Hey…Captain isn't here." The one with the hat said. "It can't be that he's been eaten up!" Glasses added, their faces in shock. Kya snorted from her seat and leaned back. Kids were stupid.

"H-Hey pirates!" Skull hat shouted, raising his small sword. "What did you do to our Captain Usopp?" Apple head added, following suit. "Give us back our captain!" Glasses finished for them. Luffy finished gnawing on the bone that had held his meat, and threw it to the ground. "What delicious meat!" He said, ignoring the terrified kids. "Huh? Meat? He…He ate the Captain?"

Nami and Kya chuckled lightly as Zoro leaned over the railing to them. "Your captain…." "Wh..What? What did you do?" "We just…..Ate him." Kya busted out laughing as the kids mouths dropped and they turned to Nami. "Why are you looking at me?" She shouted angrily at them, only making them freak out even more. Her attention turned to Zoro and she walked over to him, hitting him on the head. "Why did you tell them those weird things?" She yelled and he only laughed as the kids fainted.

"Oi, oi." Kya chuckled, walking over to them. "We were kidding." She kicked the one with the skull cap lightly and he popped up. "Kidding?" He shouted as the other two sat up. "What are your names?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Uh, Ninjin." The skull cap one said, then pointed to the two boys next to him. " Piiman, and Tamanegi."

After sharing names, the boys sat on the stoop and the pirates stood around them, sharing the truth of the boys 'captain'. "'It's that time again…?'" Tamanegi questioned after the explanation. "Yup, after he said that he left." Zoro said boredly, his head in his hand as he leaned against the railing. "Oh, so it was time to go to the mansion…"

"The mansion? Where the sick girl lives?" Nami said, surprised by this fact. "Why would he go there?" Kya asked, not believing a word they said. "To tell lies!" the boys said in unison. "Isn't that a bad thing?" Luffy deadpanned. "That's not bad actually! It's great!" Piiman smiled. "Yes! It's very good!" Tamanegi added lastly.

"Eeh?"

The boys explained how Usopp goes over to visit the mansion's owner, Kaya, and tells her lies to cheer her up from her sickness. _'He sounds too nice.'_ Kya frowned, clutching her arms tighter. "Wow! He's a great guy!" Luffy said, surprised at the fact lies could make someone happy. "He's a great guy!"

"So to restore her spirits, he's been going for a year to amuse her with made up tales?" Nami asked, seemingly interested in the story. "Yup. I like his nosiness."

"I like the captain's cowardice."

"I like his lies!"

"What kind of strong points are those?" Zoro and Kya muttered together, pointing out the flaws in the small group. She shook her head and sighed. _'To each their own, I guess.'_ She thought bitterly as Luffy spoke: "So this lady is feeling better already?"

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to the Captain!" Ninjin answered, smiling brightly. "All right! Then we shall go to the mansion and ask for a ship!" Luffy declared, pumping his fists in the air. "No! Didn't you just say you'd give it up?" Nami shouted at him, causing Kya to raise an eyebrow. Since when did the burglar feel so compassionate?

Of course, Luffy ignored her and turned to the boys. "Oi, show us the way to the mansion!" He shouted, and they nodded, heading off with Luffy right behind them. "What are we going to do with him?" Kya sighed loudly, shoving her hands in her pockets. Nami was muttering to herself as she followed the boys, her hand cradling her head. Zoro only chuckled as the three began walking together. "That's Luffy for you."

"Good afternoon!"

"What is he doing now….?" Kya mumbled as the three of them walked up behind Luffy and the young boys. In front of them was a huge mansion guarded by a huge gate. "Please lend us a ship!" He shouted before climbing up the gate. "Let's just go in." He added, throwing his leg over the top. "Then what's the use of that greeting?" Piiman muttered as Nami slapped her face and sighed. "We can't stop him." She growled. "And since we can't stop him, we'll have to follow him." Zoro added and Kya nodded in agreement.

With too much effort, and a lot of complaining on Nami's half, the rest of them climbed over the gate. "Why am I here?" Nami seethed and Kya slapped her on the shoulder. "Just calm down." She said to the younger girl as the group went to the side of the mansion. "Captain!" The boys yelled, and sure enough, there was Usopp sitting against the tree talking to a young blonde girl. "Huh? Why are all you guys here?" The long nosed man shouted in surprise. "We brought this guy here!" The boys shouted, pointing at Luffy who happened to be standing in the middle of them. "Who is he?" The girl, most likely Kaya, asked.

"Oh! So you're the ojousama?" Luffy nearly shouted at the poor girl. Usopp walked coolly over to the group, throwing his arm around Luffy's shoulders. "These guys heard of my reputation, and traveled far to see me here. They are the new members of Usopp's Pirate Crew!" He said to her, his face stoic. "Yeah!...No! That's not..! We came to ask you something! We have a request!" Luffy moved away from the liar and towards the blonde girl. "A request? Of me?" She asked, pointing towards herself.

"Yeah! We need a big ship-"

"What are you doing here?" A new voice shouted from behind the group. There stood a tall man with slicked back black hair, large rimmed glasses and a nice suit. Kya narrowed her eyes at the unfamiliar man; he smelt like trouble. "You can't just barge into the mansion like this!" He shouted again. "Urg, the butler!" Usopp groaned, turning away from the man. "He's a butler?" Kya asked, an eyebrow raised slightly. "Klahador…" Kaya trailed off as everyone stared at him. "Listen, these people are-"

"You don't have to explain, I'll ask you about it later." The butler held up a hand to the young girl before turning to the others. "Please get out, or is there something you need to say?" And of course Luffy spoke up. "I want a ship." He laughed, but quickly stopped when Zoro and Kya slapped him on the back of the head. ""No way." Klahador said before turning to Usopp. "You…You're Usopp? I've heard some rumors about you….the villagers talk about you all the time." He said darkly, and Usopp stood tall and proud. "Oh..Oh thank you! You may call me Captain Usopp! Everybody calls me that!"

"The guards said….you were lurking outside the gates. What do you want here?" The dark haired man pushed his glasses up with the heel of his palm. Kya raised an eyebrow; what an odd way to push up his glasses. "Err….I heard that there's a huge mole inside the mansion so I wanted to see it for myself!" Usopp lied, making Klahador laugh. "I see that you can certainly lie well." "What?" "I have heard about your father too. You're the son of a filthy pirate. I'm not surprised that you turned out this way. But you had better stay away from Ojousama!"

"His dad was a pirate!" Luffy asked, speaking everyone's mind. _'He looks exactly like him!' _Kya mentally slapped herself for not realizing who the long nosed boy's father was earlier. "Did you say filthy?" Usopp growled suddenly, clenching his fists tightly. "You and Ojousama belong to two different worlds. Is it money that you're looking for? Name your price."

"That's enough Klahador! Apologize to Usopp-san at once!"

The air was tense as everyone turned to Kaya, who was shaking with anger at her butler. "There is no need for me to apologize to an uncivilized person! I'm just telling the truth!" The man defended before continuing his rant. "I feel sorry for you…you hate your father don't you? Because he's a 'dumb, treasure hunter' who abandoned his family and village." Even Kya's fist clenched at the man's words. "Klahador!"

"I won't let you say another bad thing about my father!" Usopp shouted, getting angrier by the second. "Why are you so angry? You're not very smart are you? You should have just told your usual lies….and say that your real father is a traveling merchant…or that you and him are not blood related." The comments finally did the young boy in, who rushed forward and clocked the butler in the face. Kya chewed the inside of her lip, her feelings a little confused. The guy didn't seem like the usual butler, and he definitely deserved that punch to the face. But it had nothing to do with her, so it didn't matter.

"Captain!" The three boys yelled out as the butler held his bruised face. "See! You're so violent! Like father, like son!" He yelled out. "Shut up!" Usopp retorted, looking like he was ready to cry. "I'm proud that my dad was a pirate! I'm proud that he was a brave warrior of the sea! You're right that I like to lie, but I'm proud of having a pirate's blood in me! I don't have to pretend that I'm not! I am the son of a pirate!"

"Oh yeah! That guy! Now I remember." Luffy said suddenly after Usopp's rant. Kya looked at him strangely for a minute but turned back to the scene as Klahador began to speak. "That pirate…a brave warrior of the sea? Don't make me laugh." The rude man pushed his glasses up again. "However the product of that barbarian is still in you! Whenever you're upset you just use your strength to hit others!" He stood up and brushed himself off. "After all, the reason you want to be close to Miss Kaya is for her money."

"What did you say? I-"

"Enough with the explanation! After all, you are a pirate's son! That's all I need to say!"

Usopp had had enough. He marched forward and grabbed Klahador by the shirt, ready to punch him again. "Don't you dare insult my father!" He cried out, stretching his arm back. "Stop it! Usopp-san, don't hurt him!" Kaya yelled from her window and he listened. "Klahador is not a bad person at all. He's being too hard on you, because he worries about me." She cried into her hand and the butler ripped Usopp's hand from his shirt. "Get out of here." He said slapping it away. "This is not a place for a barbarian like you! Remember this! Don't you ever dare come near this house again!" He yelled and Usopp turned around, heading towards the bushes. "Ya I know. You don't need to tell me to get out. I won't ever come back to this house again!" He said before disappearing.

"You idiot! Our captain is not that kind of person!" Ninjin yelled at the man. "You are stupid!" Piiman added, pumping a fist out. "Very, very stupid!" Tamanegi said, as if it would make the man cry. "Idiot!" The last one happened to be Luffy, who Zoro hit on the back of the head. "Hey! None of this is our business." He said, and Kya just shook her head. The three boys lunged forward, only to be stopped by Nami and Kya. _'Little punks.'_ The pink haired woman growled in her head; she hated kids. "You want a piece of me!" She looked over to see Zoro holding back an angry Luffy and shook her head.

"Get out! All of you!"

It took a lot of effort, but Nami, Kya, and Zoro managed to get the immature kids over the fence and away from the mansion. "Oi, what a pain." The assassin muttered, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "So many emotions." Zoro looked at her weirdly as they came to a railing near the road. "You say that like you're emotionless." He said, sitting down against a post with his swords by his side. She shrugged, laying down next to him with her hands behind her head. "Just saying." She muttered and Nami jumped up to sit on the top of the railing next to her.

"Where's Luffy?"

Kya sat up and looked at the two boys sitting with them, then around. Luffy had run off…..again. She sighed and crossed her legs, leaning back on her hands. "That boy…" She muttered. "Maybe he went to look for Usopp." Zoro suggested, crossing his arms. "If you're looking for captain you have to go to that place." Ninjin started, as if they were about to go on a manhunt for the boys. "Yes at the coast! Whenever he becomes stressed, he goes there." Piiman finished.

"Do you want to go?"

"No." Kya and Zoro said at the same time, and the swordsman stood up slowly. "By the way, where is your other friend?" Nami asked, the only person realizing he was gone. Kya sighed and sat forward, crossing her arms across her chest. _'This is such a pain.'_ She thought as the boys spoke. "You mean Tamanegi? He always disappears." Piiman said casually. "And comes back overreacting about something." Ninjin finished for him.

As if on cue, the screams of a young boy echoed around them. "Danger!" Everyone turned to look at Tamanegi running up the street. "We are in trouble now! There is a person who walks backwards!" He shouted, running up to the other two boys.

"There is a weird guy who is walking backwards towards here!"

"Liar!"

"I'm telling the truth! Look!"

Everyone looked back down the hill, and sure enough a man wearing mainly black and a tall hat was moon walking up the slope. Kya raised an eyebrow and stood up. _'What is with this town?'_ She thought, placing her hands on her hips. "Hey who told you that I am weird? I am not a weirdo." He said, though his outfit and way of movement was quite the opposite of 'not weird'. His glasses were in the shapes of hearts and he had something on his chin….a beard maybe?

"But you looked really savage."

"Don't be stupid, I am just a regular hypnotist." The man retorted. _'Hypnotists are regular?' _Kya scoffed and kicked the dirt on the ground. "Hypnotist? That's cool!"

"Why don't you show us some tricks?"

"Yeah!"

The hypnotist looked at the boys like they were crazy. "What?" He asked, tilting his hat. "Don't be stupid, why do I have to listen to someone I don't know? You shouldn't show your trick the first time you meet someone." He said, before pulling out some weird ring on string and holding it in front of the boys. "Listen! Look at this ring!"

"Why didn't he just say that in the first place?" Zoro mumbled and Kya dropped her head. "So many idiots…" She said out loud as the hypnotist began to swing the ring in front of the kids. "When I say 'one, two, Jango!,' you will be sleepy! Understand? One…..Two…..Jango!"

Surprisingly, the kids did pass out but so did the hypnotist. "Why the hell are you sleeping too?" Zoro yelled. "Bakas." Kya muttered to no one, smacking her forehead to her palm as she walked over to the four of them. "Get up." She said, kicking the hypnotist in the head. He shot up, frowning and looking at her. "Oi! Girl! Don't hit the hypnotist!" He shouted, jumping to his feet. He towered over her, his breathing hitting her forehead. "Oops." She said harshly, her hands going back on her hips. "Aha! I like you! You got spunk!" He laughed and flicked her on the forehead. "Bye for now, I have a meeting to attend!" He then moonwalked, waving at the group, down the hill.

"What was that all about?" Nami muttered, hoping off the rail. "Who knows." Zoro said, leaning back and looking at the sky. "Guess we'll just wait for Luffy to come back." Kya said, rubbing her forehead. _'That actual hurt.'_

"Do you think we should wake them up?" Nami asked, looking at the three boys worriedly. "They'll be fine." Kya answered, walking back over to her spot where she promptly sat down. "So…..Kya." The other girl started off hesitantly. "What?"

"You know you still never answered out question."

She sighed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "And?" She shot back, only to be hit on the head by Zoro. "Woman, just answer our damn question!" He nearly shouted, and the boys stirred. "It was just someone from my past!" She yelled back, rubbing her head. "That's it okay!" He gave her a disapproving look. "I'm not lying this time."

"How can we trust you?" Nami added in, leaning over. "You're one to talk, thief." Kya said glumly, and the orange haired woman turned away with her nose in the air. "Look, I'm just saying. It was someone from my past, who we don't have to worry about any more. And that's all I'm telling you."

"Well you told me you lived on the Grand Line. And your parents are dead." She looked up at the man next to her. "Yes. That's true too. But that's it." She said finally, and the other two shut up as the boys woke up.

"What happened?" Ninjin asked groggily, rubbing his head. "You guys got knocked out by the weird hypnotist. And then he left." Nami answered him. "Oh." The three of them stood up on shaky legs, walking back over to the railing. "Well that sure was weird."

After a momentary silence, the boys were collecting their thoughts, there was loud shouting echoing around them. "Captain!" The boys shouted, walking in front of him but the older one ran right past them. "Wasn't he with Luffy?" Zoro asked and Kya nodded, her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "I think he's still mad about that guy insulting his father." Nami chimed, jumping down from the railing. "I see."

"I don't think so!"

"I think that something must have happened at the coast!"

"He is in a hurry, which means that something must have happened."

Zoro and Kya exchanged worried looks and nodded. "Where's the coast?' She asked quickly, and the boys turned to her, excitement in their eyes. "I smell something fishy." Ninjin shouted, ignoring her. "It's time for Usopp's Pirates to show their skills!" Piiman said, crossing his arms. "Right! That hypnotist also went to the coast!" Tamanegi bellowed and Kya sighed in annoyance. "You don't have to tell me that, just how can I get there?" She growled at them and they stopped to stare at her.

"U-uh-uh, follow us!"

The boys took off in the direction Usopp came from, running straight through the forest until they came to a cliff. "There's nothing here." Zoro trailed off, scratching his head. "Knowing Luffy….." Kya started, walking towards the edge. "He'd be in down there." She pointed, and sure enough, Luffy was down there asleep with his ass in the air. "That baka!" He shouted, stomping his foot on the ground. "Is he okay?" Nami cried, running down the slope next to them to get to the boy and the others followed.

"Eh, he's sleeping." Kya muttered over her captains loud snores, though his face was planted in the ground and his ass in the air. "Maybe we should wake him up…." Nami grabbed a stick and poked his ass, which only made him fall over on his side. She growled at him, stamping her foot on the ground. Get up!" She screeched, hitting him on the side of the head. Everyone backed away slowly from her as Luffy stirred awake. "She's really scary when she's mean." Piiman said, shaking slightly.

"Nyah, what happened?" Luffy moaned, rubbing his head as he sat up. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened!" Nami shouted, marching forward, only to be stopped by Kya. The older girl hooked her arms under Nami's arms, holding the kicking girl back. "Why are you here?" Zoro asked, handing the straw hat over.

"Well I followed Usopp over here, and we saw that butler guy from before. He was down here talking to some weird guy with glasses. They said they were going to kill Kaya and invade the village." Luffy muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wha-?"

"They will kill Miss Kaya!"

"And they will invade our village, is this true?"

He turned to the boys and nodded. "Yes. That's what they said, I don't think it was a mistake." He said as Kya released Nami from her grasp. "Then, why are you here sleeping?" Zoro asked, and the by cocked his head to the side. "That's…I think I was standing over the cliff."

"That man is really bad!"

"I think so!"

"I think that hypnotist is his friend for sure!"

"That's why your captain was running to the village." Nami started. "It's good that you knew tis before it happened. If you can escape now, you will be safe. These enemies are very stupid." She told the boys and they nodded. "That's true! Let's get out of here." Ninjin shouted. "Yes, let's get all our treasure and run away!" Piiman agreed, clutching his fist. "The treasure box, snacks, toys, and…." Tamanegi trailed off, counting on his fingers before they ran back up the hill. "Let's hurry!"

'_Was it necessary to be so loud?' _Kya sighed mentally, looking out at the vast sea. "Gee!" Luffy shouted behind her. "What is it?" Zoro asked boredly. "We'd better hurry up and buy some meat before the butcher runs away too!" The captain shouted, and she sighed loudly. "Baka!" The swordsman yelled, punching the younger boy on the back of the head. "We don't have time to worry about food!" Nami shouted, her hands on her hips. "Nyah, Kya! Make them stop!" He whined, getting to his feet. She couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "We'll go get food later." She turned around and smiled at him, only making Nami angrier. "Don't encourage him!"

"Calm down." She waved the orange haired girl off, looking up at the cliff. "We should probably head back though." She added, sighing lightly. "I got it!" Luffy shouted, stretching his arms out and grabbing a hold of the edge. He flung himself up, carefully landing on his feet, before looking down and giving the other three a cheeky smile and a thumbs up. "We could have just gone up the slope…." She muttered, hanging her head down.

Suddenly, something wrapped around her, Zoro, and Nami, pushing them together. "What the-" The swordsman didn't have time to finish before they were pulled up onto the ledge in an untimely fashion. Zoro and Nami tumbled face first on the ground, while Kya steadied herself on her feet as she slid. "That would have taken too long." Their captain smiled at them, placing a hand on his head. "I'm going to kill you!" Nami screeched, shaking her fist at him. "Ah, Nami! I didn't know you'd get all dirty!" The boy defended, waving his hands as the girl stalked forward. "Eh, Nami we should head back…." Zoro trailed off, rubbing the back of his sheepishly. She turned to glare at the older man, who inched behind Kya. "Don't get me involved in this." She murmured, stepping away from them and heading back to where they first were.

"Hey, hey! Don't leave me there!"

She didn't wait for Zoro, but he jogged up next to her with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Heartless woman." He muttered to her and she scoffed. "Shut up. You should have just kept your mouth shut." She shot back, making him frown. "See? Heartless." She punched him in the shoulder. "Baka. I'll hurt you." She sung, sticking her tongue out him. "Are those fighting words?" He bent down and pressed his forehead to hers angrily. "Get out of my face bozo!" She growled, the lightning in between them igniting. "Who are you calling a bozo, pinky!" That did it. She pushed his chest sending him back onto the ground. "Stop calling me pinky!" She yelled and he laughed. "No."

"Mah, Kya~! You left me all alone with Nami!" Luffy's whine echoed around them as the other two members walked up. The poor boy had a bump on his head the size of a rock, and Nami was still fuming. "Well you left me all alone with this bozo." She pointed at Zoro as he stood and brushed himself off.

"Oi!"

They crew turned to see the three young boys sitting by the rail post from earlier. Luffy waved cheerfully and the group walked over to them. "I thought you guys were running away." Nami asked as they reached the post. The boys were about to speak when something caught there attention.

"Captain!"

Usopp turned to the group, his eyes glossy, and waved. "It's you." He said unenthusiastically before seeing Luffy. "Eh? You're not dead?" He nearly screamed. "Dead, no. I just woke up." Luffy answered, his face clearly confused. "He's in a deep sleep." Piiman said, before shouting heroically. "Anyway, we know everything! We have to hurry and tell everyone about the pirates!" He said and Usopp's face fell. "Tell everyone…?" He repeated, before laughing lightly.

'_What is he on?'_ Kya thought, crossing her arms over her chest. She had met weird people in her life, but he nearly topped the list. "You should know I was lying again! I just hate that butler so I made up that story about him being a pirate!" He laughed merrily. Kya shot a look at Nami, who bit her lip from speaking. What was going on with this idiot?

"You lied?"

"I thought it was true!"

"Why are you guys playing along with him?"

The real pirates shot looked at each other, their faces contorted with confusion. "But I don't like the captain doing that." "I don't like it either!" "Even though that butler is bad, captain never should make up stories about anyone." Kya rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger in annoyance. These kids were really getting on her nerves.

"Let's go home."

"Ya, it's dinner time!"

"What will we have tonight?"

The group watched the three young boys walk off, leaving Usopp standing there. "Eh, what was that all about?" Zoro muttered, scratching his head. "After dinner tonight, will you guys meet me at the coast?" Usopp asked quietly, kicking at the ground. "Uh, ya. I guess." Luffy answered, raising an eyebrow. They watched as Usopp walked off, hands in his pockets and a cloud of gloom around him. "What's wrong with him?" Nami asked, a little frustrated with the whole situation. "What a weird kid." Kya sighed, looking at Luffy. "What are we gonna do, Luffy?"

"Eat."


	10. At Dawn, We Ride

**Chapter 10**

"**After all is done and we're still alone, I won't be taken yet I'll go with my hands bound. I will walk with my face blood. I will walk with my shadow flag into your garden, garden of stone."-Garden, Pearl Jam**

* * *

"Because I am a liar. No one will believe my story."

Kya frowned at Usopp as he spoke from his seat on the ground. They had gathered at the coast to listen to his reasoning of why he told the boys it was a lie, and it was just plain stupid to her. "But the truth is the truth, those pirates are still going come right?" Nami asked, digging her toe into the dirt. "I think so…but everyone thinks it's a lie, they think that it's a lie. They think that tomorrow will be a peaceful day." He said, staring at the ground intensely. But his demeanor changed quickly, and he stood with his fist out.

"So I will wait for them here! I will make this become a lie! They will think….that tomorrow is another peaceful day!" He shouted before grabbing his bleeding arm. "I even got shot in the arm. I was even chased by the villagers, but it is the villagers I have been trying to protect. I love this village….and I want to protect it from anyone. I can't stand it. All of them will be killed without even knowing it." He cried into his hands. "So you are a good person after all." Kya smirked at the younger boy. "But do you think you'll have to fight alone without the help of those kids?" Zoro added lightly. "We will help you too!" Luffy shouted stretching his arm. "But I have to tell you first, the treasure must be mine." Nami pointed out.

"Eh? You will help me? Why?"

"Because there are many enemies right?" Zoro asked, his hand clutching his swords. "And your face tells us that you're scared." Luffy added, squeezing his hand. "Don't be stupid! You think I'm scared of them? Even though they have more people, I will never be afraid of them! I am Captain Usopp, the greatest fighter in of the sea!" Usopp defended, jabbing a thumb at him. Kya chuckled and pointed at his legs. "Is that why your knees are buckling?"

"Ah hell! Stop it!" The boy shouted at his appendages before turning to the pirates. "What are you looking at? They are the Kuro pirates remember? Everyone must be afraid of them!" He shouted but no one seemed fazed. "That's why we'll lend you a hand. We didn't laugh at you. We just think that you're good." Zoro told him emotionlessly. "I just feel sympathy, not that I'll risk my life to help you." Luffy said with an angry face, and Usopp began to cry. "You…!"

"We don't have time for sappy moments, just tell us what's going down." Kya demanded sternly and he wiped his eyes. "Ah, ya. They will come to this coast." He said before turning to look up the path. "Because it leads directly to the village. This path is the only way. It is surrounded by cliff faces. It's easy to say." Kya leaned back against the rocky wall as Luffy spoke. "Really? That easy?" Usopp crossed his arms over his chest. "But the truth is not. What are your skills?"

"Cutting."

"Stretching."

"Killing."

"Stealing."

"My skill is hiding." Usopp sighed. "You have to fight too!" Everyone yelled at him and he laughed nervously. "Heh….I have an idea!" He said before taking off. "I swear if he's going to hide." Kya muttered, closing her eyes. "Mah, he's not going to. Not yet anyways." Luffy chuckled at her and she sighed. "For an idiot he sure is brave." She added, opening her eyes and looked up at the night sky. "He isn't that bad." Zoro said across from her and she shrugged.

"You guys I'm back!"

The four turned to look at Usopp, who held a few barrels under his arms. "What are you gonna do with those?" Luffy asked as the long nosed boy set the barrels down. He opened one and tossed the insides out, which looked like some sort of slick oil. "This is perfect!" Luffy clapped as Usopp tossed the barrels aside. "They can't climb up this slope now, because of the oil we put down" Usopp pushed his nose with a finger. "It's a strategy. We will shoot them as they try and climb up the slope. SO our main objective is to protect this slope."

"On the other hand." Nami pointed at the oil. "We have to make sure we don't slip on this oil." She said as Luffy sat and put his foot in it. "You really have a crazy idea." He chuckled and Kya hit him on the head lightly. "Don't fall." She warned and he smiled up at her.

"Sure just leave the crazy ideas and shooting to me! I am very confident." Usopp said proudly as the dawn approached. "It's morning." Zoro said as Luffy stood up. Kya looked to her left at Usopp, whose face was a mixture of terror and pride. "They will come soon."

It seemed to be ages before anyone moved or said anything. "It's morning, where are they?" Luffy whined as he kicked a rock down the hill. Kya sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. If that idiot lied to them, she'd kill him and make sure no one ever found his body. "Maybe they over slept." Zoro threw in stupidly, earning a glare from the two girls. He merely shrugged.

"Am I wrong, or did I hear…" Nami cupped a hand around her ear. "A voice from the north of the island?" Kya closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. There loud, obnoxious voices coming from that way. "Ya. I hear them too." She sighed and Nami nodded at her.

"Hey! What is that about?" Zoro shouted angrily at Usopp. "There is also a port to the North." The skittish boy said, holding his head in his hands. "We have been waiting in the wrong place?" Luffy yelled at him as Kya's intolerable level rose. "I thought that they would come this way because we saw them talking here!" Usopp shouted back. "Let's hurry up. Where are they now?"

"If we head north, it should take about three minutes. The geography there is similar to this one. If we can get them at that slope we will be fine." Usopp said angrily. "Our boats are docked there! They will steal our treasure!" Nami suddenly shouted as Kya rubbed her temples in annoyance. "I will get there in twenty seconds!" Luffy took off, with Usopp behind him. "This sucks I only planned for this port!"

"I have to hurry!" Kya looked back to see Nami struggling to run. "What are you doing?" She demanded. "Help! I'm slipping!" The orange hair girl cried. Kya looked at Zoro and he shrugged and turned around. Nami's hand wound its way into the back of his shirt, pulling him back. He reached out to hold on to something, which happened to be Kya. "What are you doing?" She shouted as they tumbled backwards. "I can't wait! I'm sorry!" Nami shouted as she ran up the slope. "Thanks guys! Sorry, but my treasure is in danger! I hope you can find a way to climb up that slope." She said before taking off.

"I will kill you!" Zoro shouted angrily after her and Kya stood on her feet. "That bitch!" She shouted, clenching her fists before pointing at the man next to her. "You! If you hadn't have grabbed me I could've helped you!" She shouted as he stood up. "Shut up! You wouldn't have helped me anyways!" He yelled back at her, making her chuckle. "You're probably right."

The two sighed and looked up the slope. "How are we-" She stopped when he tried to run up the slope normally. "Damn it! I can't get off this slope!" He said before he dramatically fell down. She scoffed at him as he stood and tried to do it again. "Baka!" She yelled as he fell, again.

'_Maybe if I climb…'_ She walked over to the rocky ledge and tried to grab a hold of it, but it was no use. If she touched it, the rocks just crumbled apart. "Dammit!" She screamed ad kicked it as Zoro tumbled back down the hill again. "We'll have to go around." She turned to look at him as he lay on the ground panting. "I won't forgive you Nami!" He shouted as he stood. "Woman! Get on my back!" He shouted at her, and she froze. "Get on your back? When hell freezes over!" She yelled, stomping her foot. He growled and grabbed her by the arm. "We don't have time for this! Get on!" They glared at each other for a moment before she gave in. "Fine." She murmured and walked behind him. She swallowed; she hated it when people touched her and carried her. "Get on!" He said impatiently as he pulled his katanas out. "Uh, okay." She answered stupidly before jumping on his back. She lightly wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her knees against his sides for support. _'Oh god what am I doing?'_ She thought to herself as he spoke. "It's just a simple slippery slope!"

He made a loud unnecessary sound as he stuck his katanas in the ground and climbed his way up the slope quickly. She would never admit it out loud, but it was pretty smart idea. "Which way is North!" He nearly shouted at her. "I don't know, does it look like I have a compass? No put me down!" She screeched and he ran faster. "We don't have time!"

She didn't have time to answer before he collided with someone, sending the two flying back. "What the hell?" She muttered, holding her head in her hand as she sat up. "Oi, Zoro. You okay?" She kicked the man beside her, causing him to growl.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow."

The two turned to see Luffy standing up and shaking his head. "What are you doing? I'm trying-Kya? Zoro?" He stared at them blankly. "You baka! You almost killed us!" She shouted and stood, brushing the dirt off herself. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and laughed. "Sorry."

Loud shouting brought the three's attention back to the situation. "Let's go." She said, pulling Zoro to his feet. "Ya." Luffy said and they took off. A slope came into view, one like where they were to begin with, but this time the pirates were actually there. "Yosh! Let's fight!" The straw hat boy said before stretching his arm out and hitting a few. Kya jumped up, landing on one man's shoulders, and kicked him under the chin before jumping to a few others and doing the same to them.

Quickly, the whole crew was taken care of, and she stood in between Luffy and Zoro at the top of the slope. She looked at a bloody Usopp sitting in the middle of the bodies and Nami sitting against the rock wall. _'Those two bakas.'_ She thought, cracking her knuckles. "What is this captain? We never knew this village had that kind of people!" Someone from Kuro's crew shouted, making her smirk.

"What is that?" Zoro asked devilishly. "How do I know? But I don't like." Luffy answered, swinging his arm around. "Nami! You really are a pain! You stepped on my head!" Zoro shouted and Kya frowned. "You left me stuck with him!" She shouted, pointing at him, and he nearly bit her finger off. "Usopp! Next time, you should tell me where the north is!" Luffy yelled, though it was his fault he got lost.

The man at the end of the slope, which was the hypnotist from earlier, stood and glared at them. "You guys are that strong?" Usopp asked, got off guard. "Yup!" Luffy answered him as Nami scoffed. "Gee. Why are you so late?" She muttered, which pissed Zoro and Kya off. "Isn't that your fault? You're the one who pushed me down the slope!" He yelled and the navigator waved him off. "It was an accident, it can't be helped. Besides, it would be better if one of us made it here. And you brought Kya down yourself!" She answered. "Then why didn't you be the person who falls?" He shouted and Kya hit him on the head. "Why'd you pull me down?" She growled and he got in her face. "It was my first reaction!"

"You only said North! How can I know where North is?" Luffy yelled at Usopp, who looked at him like an idiot. "I saw you run first! I thought you knew!" He defended, and Luffy only got angrier. "Don't change the topic!" Everyone stopped their bickering as the other pirate crew began to stir and get up.

"They still want to fight? They are very stubborn!" Luffy said and Kya placed a hand on her hip. "Listen, we don't have time to play around. When our enemies become stronger….we became stronger too." The hypnotist said simply before turning to his crew with that ring he had used on the boys earlier. "Look at this ring! When I say 'one…two….Jango!,' all of your wounds will cured, and you will get stronger and stronger."

"What are they doing?" Luffy asked. "Being hypnotized to get stronger." Nami answered him. "That's crazy." Zoro scoffed and Kya nodded in agreement. "Hopefully it's just an act."

"One….two….Jango!"

Apparently, it wasn't a hoax. The pirates jumped up, screaming with all their might. "You've got to be kidding me! They looked like dead people just a few moments ago!" Nami shouted as one pirate went over to a cliff and punched it. It came tumbling down, nearly crushing them. "They can destroy the whole cliff with just one punch? You've got to be kidding me!" Zoro shouted and Kya clenched her fist. "We're in some deep shit." She murmured and Nami and Usopp began to scream.

"They have been hypnotized!"

"Even one person can destroy the whole cliff and they have got that many people!"

"Go and finish them!" The hypnotist, Jango seemed to be his name, shouted and the pirates charged up the hill. "Both of you just get out of here." Zoro told the weaker of them. Nami nodded and hooked Usopp's arm around her shoulder. "We will take care of the rest."

"Hey Luffy." Kya said, pulling her dagger out. When he didn't answer, she turned to him worriedly. "Luffy?" She asked again, and jumped when threw his hands in the air and shouted. "You've been hypnotized too?"

"Why is he so sensitive to let him be hypnotized?" Nami asked, exasperated. The pirates ran up the hill, and Luffy and ran head first into them. "Luffy!" Kya and Zoro shouted together, but it was no use. "That baka!" She growled. "Machine gun!" The younger boy shouted, throwing so many punches it seemed like he grew more arms. "For an idiot he sure is strong." She rubbed the side of her head. "But he's still an idiot regardless."

Some of the pirates rubbed the beating off, and stood. Again, Luffy and the Kuro pirates charged forward, only to be beaten by Luffy again. "What is he doing?" Zoro asked as his captain ran straight into the large pirate ship. Luffy's arms wrapped around the keel, and he ripped it off, along with the figurehead. Everyone's mouths dropped to the floor as the boy held it in his arms. "Go Luffy!" Usopp shouted loudly.

"He took out the ship's keel! Did he mean to destroy the ship?"

Luffy moved backwards and lowered the keel, looking like he was about to hit the pirates. "He wants to use that to hit us?" One of them yelled. "Captain do something!" Jango pulled his ring out and swung it. "One…Two..Jango and you will be asleep! One….Two….Jango!" Suddenly Luffy stopped moving, and fell straight onto his back, the keel falling on top of him.

"That baka fell for it again." Kya sighed, rubbing her forehead with two fingers. "It seems he finished him off." Nami said from her and Usopp's spot on top of the ledge. "He's lying under the keel…" Usopp added in disbelief. "Don't worry, he's not dead yet. You'd better take care of yourselves first." Zoro told the two. Nami opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by new voices.

"Hey! Buchi! Look our ship's keel is gone!"

"You're right! Where is it?"

"There's still some people on the ship." Zoro stated and Kya nodded. "What a pain." She mumbled. "You're right. We still have those people." Jango said darkly. Zoro pulled his katana out and Kya reached into her belt pocket, grabbing a few needles. "What kind of creature will appear this time?" He said boredly as an injured pirate laughed at the two. "You'll die."

"Get down here Nyabin Brothers! Moshi!"

Three people stepped up onto the bow of the ship. One was rather circular, with striped pants, fangs, a black spot over his eye, and cape. The one next to him was skinny with green hair, cat like eyes, and gloves with claws on them. The last one was even skinnier, with dark black jeans and a white tank top; he was the only normal-ish looking one. But all three had one thing in common; cat ears.

"Let's go!"

The three jumped off the ship, landing around Jango. "You have come, Nyabin brothers, Moshi. "Did you call us captain?" The green haired one asked, his back hunched over. "Captain." The fat one said slowly, while the normal looking one stared off into space.

"What are they?" Nami nearly screamed. "They are amazing from jumping that high." Usopp added in surprise. "Buchi, Sham, Moshi, no matter what we have to get off this slope, as you can see there are some people that are trying to prevent us. Can you take care of them?" Jango asked the three new faces. The hunched one and the big one began to quake in fear. "I don't think I can, don't you think so Buchi?" The green haired one said quickly. "I don't think so either! Besides they look very strong!" The fat one replied. The normal one didn't say a word, didn't even show emotion. His dead, black eyes stared straight at Kya, sending a chill up her spine.

"Eh? Aren't they secret weapons?" Usopp asked as Nami sighed. "Looks like they're afraid." She replied. "We are just simple ship protectors." "Even if we come out we can't help anyone" The two shrugged their shoulders. "Let's get going Sham!" Jango shouted. "What? Me!"

"Moshi doesn't back talk me."

"Moshi doesn't talk!"

"Go! Now!"

"I'm going!"

Kya cocked her head. They were bickering like family. "They sent the weakling to fight us? What are they thinking?" Nami wondered out loud. "Be prepared! I will come and get you all!" Sham shouted, running up the hill. "They sent that weakling to fight me?" Zoro yelled, grasping his katana. "If you come any closer, I'll cut you to pieces!" Sham looked at Zoro darkly. "Do it if you can!" He said smugly before disappearing. "What?"

The sound of metal clashing echoed around them as Zoro's swords collided with Sham's claws. Kya frowned and turned her attention back to the other two, only seeing the fat one standing there. "Shit." She cursed and closed her eyes. _'Where are you….?'_ She trailed off, searching for him. _'Above. He's going to punch the ground.' _She quickly back flipped away as Moshi's fist collided with the ground. She slid back and stared at the man as he stood and looked at her with those dead eyes.

Her eyes widened as three claws slid from his knuckles, reaching his knees. _'Dammit. He's a devil fruit user isn't he?'_ She growled mentally. He walked forward, and she knew exactly what he was going to do. He began to run his arms stretched out, ready to stab her. "Kya! What are you doing? He's going to stab you!" Nami yelled in horror, but her words went ignored. "Tekkai." The pink haired girl said, crossing her arms in front of her. His claws hit her in the arm, doing no damage but simply sending her back a little. _'I hate this stupid move. I can't move.' _She thought bitterly as Moshi backed away, his eyebrows furrowed. "You don't talk eh?" She asked him after she released herself from the tekkai, and he only stared at her. "Good. I hate talkative enemies." She said simply, before running towards him. "Soru." He frowned as she maneuvered around his attacks, and punched him in the stomach. She watched as he flew back, sliding across the ground.

"Crap." She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. Haki gave her a splitting headache; she needed to work more on it. "Kya! Watch out!" She looked up to late and Moshi kicked her straight into the ledge. She turned to her back, and her head hit it the rocks with a loud crack. _'Shit.'_ She closed her eyes, finding his body coming straight towards her.

"Kya!"

She slid down on her butt against the wall just before Moshi's claws sank into the rock wall. "Will you two shut up!" She screamed over at Usopp and Nami, who were practically in tears after realizing the assassin was alive. Kya pulled her dagger out, stopping the cat-like man's free claws. She lifted her legs up, kicking the man hard in the stomach and he went flying.

"I hate cats." She said lowly, wiping blood off her chin. She caught someone running out of the corner of her eye, and turned to see who it was. "Nami!" She screamed at the navigator, who ignored it. "Watch out!" Usopp yelled, and Kya looked up to see Moshi flying down towards her. "Dammit. I thought you were finished." She said exasperated, holding her hands out. She caught the man's fists in her hands, strategically avoiding his claws going through her fingers.

'_He's strong.'_ She thought as they fought for power. Stepping back was a big mistake, her ankle gave out as her foot landed on a rock and sent her down on a knee. Since he got the upper hand, he overpowered her and sank two claws into her shoulder. She closed an eye in pain, but did not falter. "Bastard." She muttered, gaining her balance back and pulling the blades from her shoulder. She glanced at her dagger on the ground, which had been knocked from her hand a moment ago. _'If only I could get it.'_ She thought desperately, not wanting to resort to anything to energy-wasting.

Forcing more strength in her upper body, she pushed him away, releasing her grip on his fists. He almost charged at her, but froze in his place, wide eyed. She looked at him strangely, sneaking over and grabbing her dagger off the ground. "Cap-Captain Kuro!" Someone cried out. "We're gonna die!"

She gasped as she looked up the ledge, there stood Klahador, or Kuro, and he angrily pushed his glassed up with the heel of his palm. "It has passed dawn! And my plan has not worked! What the hell are you doing!" He shouted down at them, and they shook with fear. She glared past Zoro and the other two cat idiots at their captain. He was a rotten man. "Don't tell me you have been stopped by these rats! Have the Kuro pirates been a bunch of weaklings like this? Say something Jango!"

"But you told me this kid would not affect our plans…didn't you?" The hypnotist defended. "Yes I told you. So what? It shouldn't really be a problem that this kid tries to stop us. You should know that it's because you're weaker than I thought. I don't want to hear any more excuses." Kuro told him darkly. "You call us weak…?" Sham nearly chuckled. "Watch your words Captain Kuro." Buchi added. "It's true that you were strong."

"What do you want to say?" Kuro asked, not putting up for their ignorance. "Stop Buchi! Sham!" Jango yelled from the bottom of the ledge. "But that was three years ago. While you were staying in this village peacefully, we were not just doing nothing." Sham continued. "Yes. We have invaded many towns…..and sunk many pirates ships!" Buchi continued for his brother.

"It's just that your plan is not working! We won't let you kill us that easily!"

"It's been three years! You think you can beat us? The Nyabin brothers?"

The two ran forward past Zoro at their captain, or former captain. Kya furrowed her eyebrows, shooting glances at the quiet one to make sure he wouldn't attack her. This whole ordeal was really confusing the hell out of her. "You are not our captain anymore!" Sham shouted defiantly. "Before you kill us, we'd better kill you first!" Buchi yelled. As the two swung at Kuro, he disappeared, and reappeared behind them but with long claws on his hands. "You said that you would kill….who?" He said ominously. _'He couldn't have used….no?'_ Kya thought, this new information racking in her brain.

"What are those weapons?" Zoro muttered out loud in front of her. "You came to our back?" Sham shouted as the two turned around, only to see their captain disappeared again. "He's disappeared again." Buchi noted thoughtfully.

"I feel that my body." Kuro appeared behind them again, his arms around their shoulders. "Is a little bit resisting." He moved his claws up to their necks and spoke again. "You are right I am not your captain anymore." The two brothers began to cry. "I am just a person who paid you to do your job. If you can't do it, I will finish you."

Kya barely had time to register the fact he was about to kill his own crew when she was pinned to the wall by her already stabbed shoulder. "Shit." She hissed in pain. "Kya!" Zoro yelled, wide eyed. "Baka! Ignore me!" She shouted at him and he nodded, turning back to Kuro's speech.

"You have a terrible captain." She chuckled at Moshi, who flinched and dug his claws in her shoulder deeper. Loud screams drew both their attention back to the middle of the ledge, and saw that Zoro had seemingly defeated the Nyabin brothers. She took this as her chance, and grasped her dagger tightly, shoving it forward into her opponent's stomach.

Moshi opened his dark eyes widened, and turned to glare at her. He coughed blood up and she ripped the claws from her shoulder. "Never take your eyes off the enemy." She said shortly, before her fist collided with his face and sent him flying. "She single handedly defeated Moshi!" Someone yelled, but her victory was short lived when she heard Zoro yell.

"Nami! Watch out!"

Kya's eyes widened as she saw one of Jango's disks flying directly at Nami's head. "Shit!" She said, running towards the coast. "I can't get there in time!" She watched as Nami stepped on the still sleeping Luffy's face and stopped. "It's you Nami? You are stepping on my face!" He shouted angrily, sitting up. That's when the ring collided with the back of his head, spurting blood everywhere.

"Luffy!" Kya's hand shot to her mouth in horror. "Should I say he's a lucky or unlucky person?" Zoro tried to joke with a serious tone. She watched as Luffy leaned forward, ripping the metal ring from his head. He stood there for a moment, before everything hit him. "It really hurts!" He screamed in terror, while the pirate crew scrambled away from him.

"That hurt you know!" He shouted, holding his head and getting in Nami's face. "I didn't do anything!" She defended before falling to her knees. "Your shoulder's bleeding." He pointed out and she clutched it. "It's nothing I'm fine. I've done my job, so you better do yours and take care of the rest. This fight….we can't lose!"

'_At least he's okay.'_ Kya thought, sighing in relief before clutching her own wound. It stung like a bitch, but she'd been through worse. She'd manage. "What? The butler is coming here?" Luffy asked as he turned around. "Three minutes….And I will kill all of you." Kuro said, sending his crew into a panic.

"It's too short!"

"Impossible! Even for Captain Jango and Buchi-san!"

"We can't defeat them in three minutes!"

"Buchi there's no time left now." Jango shouted, turning towards Luffy. "Go ahead and kill the swordsman and that girl. I'll take care of this kid." The fat man nodded and turned around. Kya held her dagger at the ready, but the battle was stopped before it began.

"Klahador! Stop everything!"

Everyone turned to see the sick girl from the mansion, Kaya, standing at the top of the ledge. "Kaya? What are you doing here?" Usopp shouted at her worriedly. "Isn't that the girl from the mansion? The goal of this plan?" Jango shouted from below as his crew stood.

"So we don't have to go to the village…"

"As long as we kill that girl?"

"What a surprised Miss Kaya." Kuro said darkly. "Why did you come here?" The poor girl looked near tears as she spoke. "I heard everything from Merry." She claimed, her body shaking. "So! He's still alive? I thought I'd already finished him…." He trailed off as she began to sweat. "I am sorry, Usopp-san! Anyway, you won't forgive me. I did not believe you when you said…when you said Klahador was a pirate."

"Don't worry about that! Why are you here? I told you not to run away from the village! They want to kill you!" Usopp yelled at her caringly. "But you are fighting aren't you? Even though we treated you badly, you still fight for us, even though you are injured." She cried to him and he scoffed. "I told you that I am a brave warrior of the sea."

"Klahador! If you want my treasure, I will give it to you. But you will have to leave this village!"

Kuro didn't even ponder about it. "You misunderstand Miss Kaya. I want your money, but I also want a 'peaceful' life. This village trusted me for three years. It became part of my peaceful life. My plan will succeed when I acquire both peace and your treasure. So the accident about pirates and your will are the most important things in my plan." He said to her simply.

"Run Kaya! Even though you talked to him, you can't change his mind! He's not the butler you used to know!" Usopp pleaded with her, but she didn't listen. Instead, she pulled a gun out, surprising everyone. "Leave this village!" She demanded. "You've become stronger in these three years." He noticed thoughtfully.

"Do you remember? There were many things that happened during those three years. Since you've lost your parents, we've been together. We went to town together. When you were sick, I took care of you. We were happy and sad together. I've tried very hard to do everything for you. I have spent these three years doing stupid things. I have been very patient."

Kya clenched her jaw in anger. This made boiled her blood; she wanted to put a bullet through his head. "Everything I've done for you is for today, the day that I kill you!" He continued his rant. "I used to be Captain Kuro but I have pretended to be good to a stupid girl who doesn't know anything! You know that I have been very patient! Do you understand now? Those boring days that I have been through?" Kaya dropped the gun as tears poured from her eyes.

"Kuro!"

Usopp jumped from the ledge, aiming to punch Kuro. "Usopp, I still have some business to do with you. You did punch me very hard." Kuro said, dodging the punch. He went to stab the long nosed liar, but his efforts were fruitless as he was punched in the face. Kya turned to look at Luffy, holding his arm and smiling. "If you don't like to be hit," He began. "I'll hit you 100 times."

* * *

**:) **


	11. Kind Gifts

**Chapter 11**

**"Friends are like stars; they are always there, but you only see their true brightness in the darkest times." –Jeremy Arnold**

* * *

"What was that?"

"He hit Captain Kuro!"

"From that far of a distance?"

Kya smirked as she looked at the clawed captain lying on the ground. _'Luffy is one hell of a kid.'_ She thought to herselfas she cracked her knuckles. She didn't understand why the man didn't get up, but apparently it wasn't a good sign. "Captain Kuro is angry. What will happen to us?" One of the other pirates shouted fearfully.

"Now!"

Everyone looked up the hill to see the three young boys jump out from the bushes. _'What are they doing?'_ She thought fearfully as pain stung her wounded shoulder. She clutched it tightly as the boys shouted.

"The Usopp's Pirates are coming!"

"Prepare yourself, stupid!"

"You bastard butler!"

The boys began to hit Kuro's face with their fists and wooden swords. "Why are you here?" Usopp yelled out at them. "I told you not to come!" Kaya shouted at them with a sickly voice, but the boys ignored them both.

"Let's get him!"

"Don't take our peace from us!"

"Die!"

"What are those kids doing?" The other pirates yelled out, backing away in fear. "That's enough! Get out of here all of you!" Usopp tried to get them to run, but his efforts proved fruitless. "What are those crazy kids thinking?" Zoro muttered and Kya gritted her teeth. She may have hated kids, but they didn't deserve to die.

"That's enough." Ninjin said, and the other two stopped beating Kuro's face. "Captain did come to fight him." He added and the others agreed. "Why didn't you tell us? That's dirty!" Piiman shouted at Usopp. "No! It's dishonest!" Tamanegi added lastly. "It doesn't matter what! You'd better escape now! Go!" Usopp shouted at them, but they didn't listen.

"No captain!"

"We won't run away! We'll fight with you!"

"Usopp's pirates shouldn't run away!"

That's when Kuro stood up behind them, pushing his glasses up but the glass fell out from the frames. "Shit." Kya muttered to herself. How were they going to get them out of this one? The boys turned around and fell, screaming their lungs out. "Go!" Usopp yelled, hoping they would finally listen.

But they didn't.

Instead, Kuro walked straight past them. "Why did he walk past us?" Their question was answered as Kuro hit Usopp after peeling the bandage off his face. "Captain!" One of the boys cried out for him. "It hurt a little bit, because it's a very strange skill." Kuro said to Luffy. "You got that skill from a Devil Fruit right?" Luffy nodded and smirked. "Right! I ate a Gomu Gomu Fruit and became a rubber man!" He answered as gasps arose from Kuro's crew.

"What? A Devil Fruit?"

"It's not a myth?"

"No wonder that kid is so strange."

Kya snorted at their stupidity. Everyone knew that Devil Fruits weren't just myths. "Rubber man? So when he stretched his arm out, it wasn't an illusion. But how can he stand after my attack?" Jango thought aloud, swinging his disks around his fingers. "Jango!" Kuro shouted, making the hypnotist jump slightly. "I'll kill that kid. You take care of Miss Kaya." The cruel man put his hands together by his palms, sticking his blade covered fingers out. "Make sure that she writes the will according to the plan. After that, kill her." The sickly young lady shook in her boots. "By the way, the three worms too." Kuro added and Jango tipped his hat. "Roger."

"Stop right there."

Kya shot a look at Zoro. He was injured pretty badly, he shouldn't be doing this. "I won't allow you to get through here." He continued, a dark gleam in his eyes. "Buchi! Get him!" Jango shouted fearfully, and the fat man charged straight for the swordsman. "Cat…." He started, and she backed away from the two quickly. "Pound!" He slammed into the ground, destroying it to pieces. "Zoro!" She called out for the man as a side of the cliff fell apart. _'Dammit, what's going on?'_

"He doesn't know his own strength." Kuro muttered behind her. She clutched her bleeding shoulder one last time before letting go. '_It's just a little wound.'_ She thought, looking at Usopp, who had been flung to the side during the ground breaking attack. "Super! Is he human?" Luffy yelled from the bottom of the hill. Her eye twitched in annoyance; he was an idiot.

Then Buchi ran at Zoro again, who stood near the side of the cliff. _'He's going to get crushed.'_ Her eyes widened as the cat man shoved his clawed hand against Zoro and into the wall. "I defeated you once." She let out a breath to see Zoro had stopped the attack with his sword and put his foot on his face. "So, I won't lose against you!" He pushed Buchi's face, sending him flying back.

Her attention was drawn towards footsteps, and she saw Jango walking up the slope. "You think you can stop me?" He smirked at her, glancing at her bleeding shoulder. "Of course I do." She answered back simply, pulling out her dagger. He chuckled. "You're just a little girl." He joked, and she growled. "This little girl could kill you in an instant."

She didn't notice movement under the rubble until a hand grabbed her ankle and threw her back against the cliff. "Shit." She muttered, rubbing her head as she stood. Moshi was standing in front of her, panting heavily as blood seeped from the wound in his stomach. Form the corner of her eye she could see the boys taking Kaya away, and Jango going after them. _'I have to go help them.'_ She thought bitterly, cracking her knuckles.

"Your plan isn't going to work. I know that she is very weak, she can't escape from Jango. But…" Kuro pushed his glasses up as he spoke. "You have to survive first!" She clenched her fists and stared at Moshi deadly. He was in the way. "Damn it, the tables have turned." Usopp muttered, attempting to stand. "Usopp." Luffy called out. "Just leave the rest to us."

A loud crashing noise came from the forest grabbed everyone's attention. "What was that noise?" Usopp gasped as blood dripped down his face. "I think Jango is losing his temper. Go ahead and look if you want, but it's probably too late." Kuro said simply from his spot on top of the hill. "I guess we can hurry up and do this now." Zoro said and Kya nodded in agreement. "If you can!"

Apparently, that was a signal for Moshi. He came charging towards her, claws out. She waited until he was close enough, and put her hands on her shoulders, flipping herself over him. She turned around, ready to dig her blade into his back, when something knocked her against the cliff.

"God dammit." She wailed, pushing the body off her, who happened to be Zoro. "Sorry." He said to her, before stopping Buchi's claws with his swords. "You okay?" She breathed out from behind him. "Yeah." He answered, struggling against the cat man. She patted his shoulder before moving away from him, facing Moshi again. "Let's just get this over with okay?" She said to him, and he just stared at her with his cold eyes. _'Weird boy.'_

He charged at her, claws out, and she managed to stop them with her dagger. _'If I don't finish this soon, Kaya will get killed.'_ She pushed him away and he flew back, his feet sliding across the ground. "Soru." She whispered, and quickly she was in front of the mute man, her dagger plunged into his stomach. His eyes widened and blood came out of his mouth, and for a moment she thought he was going to speak, but only groans escaped his red lips as she pulled the dagger up and out. Moshi fell to the ground, blood still spilling from his wound. She stood over him, panting heavily. It had been so long since she actually killed someone; had their blood on her hands. It felt strange and unnatural, and she was a bit scared by her ability to easily take a life. How could she be so heartless? How could she-

She was jerked from her thoughts by a hand grabbing her arm. "Oi, we have to go save them." She stared at Zoro wide eyed as he carried Usopp easily over his back. "Oh-oh. Yeah." She looked back at the dead body then to him. "Let's go." She said quickly, moving on from her emotions. He gave her a strange look but nodded. "Okay." As the started to run, Kuro turned to them, holding his hand out to attack. "Who said you could leave?"

"Me, the great pirate Luffy did!"

Luffy shot his hand out, causing Kuro to hold back on his attack. "Go Zoro, Kya!" The straw hat boy yelled and they took off along with Usopp. "You think he'll be okay?" Zoro asked her, and she nodded. "He's Luffy. Usopp, which way do we go?"

"East." The boy said lightly, and the other two shot each other a glance. "I have no idea which way is east." She whispered, slightly ashamed. "Me either. We'll just go left." He told her, nudging her to the left side of the forest. As they began to run through the thick fauna, Usopp pulled his head up.

"What are you doing? I told you to go east dammit!" He shouted in Zoro's ear. "Enough with the compass talk! Just tell me right or left!" The swordsman shouted back. "Go right!" Kya sighed, having to turn Zoro around as he began to run towards the left. "Bakas." She muttered, hitting the side of her face. _'They're going to be the death of me.' _She thought bitterly.

As they ran through the forest they noticed trees laying on the ground that had been cut down. "They were here." She muttered and the other two nodded. A loud shouting caused them to stop where they were. "Did you hear that?" Zoro asked, panting heavily. "Yes, it's their voices." Usopp answered him. "Alright, let's go this way." She took off towards the left, where their voices were coming from.

They began to run for a little bit until Usopp cried out: "Found them!" He flailed, hitting Zoro on the chest. "Stop! I found them!" He yelled again and they skidded to a stop. "Stop hitting me then! You're hitting my wounds!" Zoro shouted at them as Kya looked in the direction the long nosed man was looking. Sure enough, there was Kaya and Jango, but Jango had his blade directed at the sick girl. "Over there!" Usopp pointed at the scene. "We're lucky! She's still alive!" That's when Zoro threw the poor boy to the ground, nearly hitting Kya. "But she's in danger. You wait here, we'll save here." The two pirates took off through the forest.

"Stop right there hypnotist!" Zoro yelled out stupidly, grabbing his swords. Jango stared at them wide eyed before turning to Kaya and grabbing her by the throat. "Shit." Kya muttered, running faster. _'We won't make it!'_ And just then, the three boys came up behind Jango and hit him in the back, knocking him over.

"You little brats!" He shouted and kicked the boys against the trees before turning to Kaya and grabbing her coat collar. "You're too late swordsman, pink haired girl!" He cackled, holding the ring near the girl. Zoro chuckled and pulled a sword out, cutting some of the trees down. "What are yo-" Kya didn't finish her sentence as Zoro pushed her to the ground, squatting next to her.

"Death Marble Shot!"

It looked like an explosion on Jango's face and Kaya screamed, ducking away from the scene. "You bastard." The assassin murmured as she stood up and brushed herself off. Zoro chuckled at her as Usopp stumbled his way up to Kaya and the three boys. "You could have just told me." She pouted and he shrugged, throwing his bandana at her. "Tie this around my arm." He demanded, holding his left arm out. She glared at him, but complied, tying the fabric around his bicep maybe a little too tightly. He winced and pushed her back from her good shoulder. "Bitch."

"Ass."

"What was that?" He yelled, getting in her face. "I said you're an ass!" She shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "At least I'm not short!" He retorted and her jaw dropped. "I'm not short!" She punched his chest with her bad arm. "Shit." She winced, grabbing it tightly as more blood spilled from the wound. "Ah, you should get that checked." He told her boredly and she opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the boys.

"Thank you!"

They hugged the two pirates' legs tightly before grabbing Kaya's hand. "Thank you, for everything." She whispered lightly, tears in her eyes. Kya smiled lightly at her and nodded while Zoro shrugged at them. They exchanged short goodbyes as the four took off and Usopp limped over to the two. "We should go see how the others are doing."

The walk back was silent, except for the occasional redirecting of Zoro, and finally they made it back to the cliff. It wasn't surprising to see Luffy sprawled out on the ground with Nami next to him. Kya walked over near Nami and lay down while Zoro sat against the cliff with his swords in his lap.

"Thank you very much. Because of all of you…" Usopp started from where he stood at the top of the hill. "Without your help, it would have been impossible for me to help this village." He finished happily. "What are you talking about? If you didn't do anything I wouldn't have helped you." Zoro smirked at the young boy. "Same here." Luffy added tiredly. "Ya." Kya said, closing her eyes. "That's okay, because I got all their treasure!" Nami added, hugging the bag she had in her lap. "This situation helped me make a decision about my life."

"Eh?"

"I'm going to be a pirate!" Usopp declared and the other three laughed. "Alright. You do that." Kya chuckled as she stood from the ground, cracking her back. "But for now I need sleep." Luffy jumped up quickly, pumping a fist in the air. "And meat!"

* * *

Kya stared intently at Luffy, who pretty much had his hand shoved down his throat. After a good night's rest, everyone needed a meal or two and Luffy had eaten more than he should. She munched on an apple as the boy pulled part of a fish skeleton from his mouth. "Phew. I finally got it out." He said, holding the piece between his fingers making the assassin chuckle. "If you don't train yourself well enough, you're going to choke yourself with the fishbone." Zoro instructed him. "I must tell you that normal people don't eat the fishbone, you know?" Nami said from Kya's side, but her words were ignored as usual.

"Well, we've eaten. Shall we go?" Zoro asked with his eyes closed. "Yes." Luffy answered, munching on the bone again. Just as the crew was getting ready to leave, the door opened and Kaya spoke to them. "You're here." She said, relieved. "Hi, ma'am." Luffy said politely as the girl walked over to their table. "Are you okay without taking a rest?" Nami asked worriedly. "I'm fine. My illness was caused by the stress of losing my parents. With Usopp-san, who always cheers me up, I think I will try hard to recover." Kaya explained before turning to Luffy. "But anyways, you told me that you wanted a ship right?"

"You'll give us a ship!"

She nodded, smiling enormously. "Come with me!" She walked out the tavern and the four pirates followed her quickly through the town to the coast. There they met up with Kaya's other caretaker, Merry (and he wasn't evil), and the new ship. The pirate's mouths dropped to the ground. Kya had never seen such a beautiful ship before, and though it was fairly small, it was still their ship. The flag had Merry's head on it and the figurehead was in the shape of a sheep. "Ho." Was all Zoro had to say to it.

"It's a caravel!" Nami exclaimed, putting her hands up to her mouth. "It's cute." Kya chuckled. "Wooooow!" Luffy nearly shouted, busting everyone's eardrum. "This ship is designed by me. It might look a little bit old. The ship's name is Going Merry. It's a caravel ship with a rudder in the middle. It has been very popular in Latin world." Merry explained to them happily. "Aren't you the people who defeated the Kuro pirates? I thought that you'd have more people."

"You'll give us this ship?" Luffy asked, putting his arms up. "Yes please take it." Kaya told him politely. "It's gorgeous." Kya murmured and walked over to it, running her fingers across the wood.

"I also prepared the necessary supplies on the ship." She heard Kaya tell Luffy. "Really? Thank you! You're very kin!" He told her, and Zoro and Kya snorted. "It's kind not kin, idiot." The swordsman told the boy. "Somebody stop me!" Everyone stopped and looked up the hill, only to see Usopp rolling down it with a large bag of stuff on his back. "Usopp-san." Kaya muttered worriedly. "What's he doing?" Luffy asked stupidly. "Just stop him before he hits the ship!" Zoro shouted. The two boys stood with one foot out, and they slammed directly into Usopp's face, stopping his movement. "Th-Thanks." The long nosed kid said, though his voice was muffled by shoes and feet. "You're welcome."

Kya shook her head and climbed up the ladder to the deck. It was fairly spacious for such a small ship. _'I should have no problem meditating.'_ She thought as she sat up on the stern's railing. "It's pretty nice up here." She looked over to see Zoro jumping on the deck with Luffy behind him. "Ya." She leaned back on her palms and looked at the sky. "It's a good ship." She added and the swordsman snorted as he leaned back against the railing next to her, Luffy on her other side. "How do you know that?" He asked and she smiled at him. "Just a feeling."

"I wish to remain healthy, maybe we'll meet again someday!" Usopp shouted from the ground, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Why?" Luffy asked with his face on his arms as he leaned over the railing. "Huh? Why are you asking me? Both of us are pirates so we have to meet again someday in the sea!" the long nosed boy said, raising his arms up in a confused manner. "Just shut up and get on the ship." Zoro told him, crossing his arms. "We haven't got all day you know?" Kya added.

"Eh?"

"We're on the same team now." Luffy explained as Nami climbed up the ship. It seemed to take a long while for Usopp to soak in this news, but when he did, he nearly leaped on the ship. "I'm the captain right?" He shouted and Luffy frowned at him. "Don't be stupid! I'm the captain!" He said, making the rest of the crew laugh lightly.

With short goodbyes, the crew set sail, onto their next adventure. "We need to figure out the sleeping arrangements." Nami said, putting her fist in her other hand as the crew sat on the deck. "Ah, right!" Luffy shouted, running down to the lower deck. "The men's cabin is here." He said, pulling up a latch which led below deck. "And the girl's cabin is here." Nami said, opening a door which was above deck.

Kya went to walk into her new 'room' but Nami stopped her, putting a hand out. "I don't think so." She said, causing the assassin to raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. "I don't trust you. You're an assassin, you kill people for a living. I'm not sleeping in the same room with you." The orange haired girl said simply, and Kya went red with anger. "What the hell? Where am I supposed to sleep then!" She nearly screamed.

"With the boys."

She opened her mouth to yell again, but Zoro's happy shouting overpowered her. "I found grog!" He said, heading towards the bow with two barrels over his shoulder. _'I'll get you for this, Nami.'_ She growled mentally, following the swordsman. As the five of them gathered around with their drinks, Luffy shouted: "To a new ship and a new member!"

"Hooray!"

Everyone toasted their drinks together before downing them happily. Kya smiled lightly as she watched her crew dance and laugh and smile. She never thought she'd be in a pirate, or working with other people firstly. It nagged her a little to know she might have to leave, but they weren't there yet. She could enjoy the time she had with them for now.


	12. Old Friends

**Chapter 12**

"**She swears the moon don't hang quite as high as it used to; and she only sleeps when it's raining and she screams and her voice is straining."-3 AM, Matchbox Twenty**

* * *

Kya was not happy.

But was she ever truly happy? No, not really.

She turned over on her side in the hammock she was currently in, facing the wall. Why was she in the boys' room again? Oh ya, Nami refused to let her sleep in the women's room. Usopp was sleeping on the couch on the other side of the room, snoring loudly, while Luffy was sleeping a few hammocks down from her.

Zoro was on watch, per usual, so his snoring was surprisingly not the thing keeping her up. She just couldn't sleep. The five of them had been sailing for a few weeks, and she barely slept. At first she thought it was because of the hammock, but everywhere she attempted to sleep the same thing happened: nightmares. Every night it seemed; she saw people dying one by one in a gruesome fashion. Shivers ran up her spine at thought of the crews' death.

"Kya."

Fingers were jabbed in her back, digging into her shoulder blade. "Wake up." She turned over to look at the captain. He was bent over, a large frown covering his face as he fixed his hat. "I'm hungry." He whined to her, grabbing his growling stomach. She sighed and looked at him. "I've done this every night for you since we've left Usopp's town." She told him sternly. "But you're the cook. You're supposed to feed me." He retorted, pointing a finger in her face. She rolled her eyes. "I'm not the cook. I just make food because we don't have one yet." She swung her legs over the hammock and stood. "Alright let's go."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the steps on the mast. "Kya's making me food~!" He whistled as he climbed up and out the latch. "You're so loud." She muttered to herself, following him outside. The chilly night air hit hard, sending shivers up her spine. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, cursing silently for wearing shorts and a tank top to bed. If there was one thing she could not handle, it would definitely be the cold. Her home island was pretty much a rainforest; hot and humid. The cold did not sit well with her and she could barely stay in it for five minutes.

Rushing into the kitchen area, she shook her head at Luffy; he was sitting at the table with a fork and knife in each hand. "Midnight snack!" He chuckled at her. "You eat a lot and yet you're still as skinny as a tooth pick." She muttered, opening the fridge and pulling out a little bit of meat. "This is all you can eat, okay? We have to ration our food." He pouted as his stomach growled again. "But I'm hungryyyyyyyyy." He whined loudly. "Well at the next island make sure you get more meat because we're running low." She told him sternly as she pulled a pan out. Even though she didn't eat it herself, she really had no problem cooking meat. It was for her captain anyways.

"Hey Kya, who's So….Sor….Sora?"

She froze as she turned the stove on. "Wh-What? What are you talking about?" She said quickly, turning to him. He pointed at her right leg. "It's on your leg." He said bluntly, and she looked down. Her shorts had risen up above her upper thigh, revealing the rather large scar on her right thigh that read 'SORA'. "Oh it's nothing forget it." She pulled the fabric down so it stopped at mid-thigh, covering the brutal reminder of her past. "Oh. Okay." He said boredly. "Are you cooking my meat?"

"Yes." She said slowly, putting the meat in the pan. _'Good thing he's an idiot. Nami and Zoro would have been on my ass.'_ She let out a breath of relief, pulling at her shorts just to make sure they were down. After a few minutes of silence, she piled the meat onto a plate and handed it to the seemingly starving boy. "Thank you Kya!" He said happily before shoving nearly half of it in his mouth. "So Luffy." She walked back over to the kitchen, deciding to make herself some tea. "How do you know Shanks?"

"Shanks was the one who gave me this hat! He saved my life." He said happily as she began to heat up the water. "Really? Hm, that's interesting. I've only met him once. He was pretty cool." She turned to him as he smiled down at his half empty plate of food. "He's my hero." He said quietly, making her smile. "Do you think you'll see him again soon?"

"Ah, hopefully!"

It was silent for a while as she poured the hot water into her cup and set the tea bag in it. "Luffy." When he didn't answer, she worriedly turned to him, only to see him face first in his plate; asleep. "That boy." She muttered, walking over to him. She lifted his head carefully and removed the plate from under him. "How is he a captain?" She placed the plate in the sink and pulled a blanket out from under it. Lightly, she draped it over him as his snoring began to echo around the room. Grabbing her tea, she turned the lights off before exiting the room.

"So that's where all our food has been going."

She ignored Zoro and proceeded to walk down the stairs to the room. "You're wasting our food you know?" He pressed, following her. She sighed and turned to look at him as he stood at the top of the stairs. "Aren't you supposed to be on look out?" She put a hand on her hip and stared at him disapprovingly. "Touché. You're too soft on him." She pulled at her pants leg as he spoke. "I thought you were supposed to be heartless."

"I'm not soft on anybody."

With that, she turned and left, her bare feet padding against the wooden deck. The wind hit her hard, and she shook as goose bumps rose on her arms. She could hear the swordsman following her, but she chose to ignore it. He was an idiot anyway.

"You're really going to drink that down there? Why didn't you just stay in the kitchen?" She stopped just before the hatch to the room and took a sip of her tea. "Why don't you just shut up?" She retorted, slightly annoyed. He chuckled lightly. "It was just a simple question. Why are you so pissed off?"

"You piss me off in general."

"That's harsh."

"Go away. I'm going to sleep."

She bent down and opened the latch as he moved to the other side of the mast. "I'm going to sleep too. I'm just waiting for you to go down." He smirked at her and she glared at him. "Whatever." She climbed down carefully; not spilling her tea, as Zoro impatiently followed her. "Don't forget to close the hatch." She reminded him as Usopp's snoring hit her ears. "I didn't." He grumbled lowly at her.

Setting her tea on the table, she grabbed a book from the chest and sat on the couch opposite of Usopp. "Where did you get a book?" He asked walking over to one of the hammocks. "I stole it from Nami." She answered as she opened it. It was something about weather, which she didn't really care for, but she liked reading and these were the only books Nami had.

"She's going to kill you." He chuckled as he laid down in the uncomfortable bed. "I hate her." She replied, sipping her tea. "Hm. Well goodnite I guess." He put his arms behind his head and hung his leg off the side. "Okay." His loud snoring overpowered Usopp's, making her sigh. She had really picked a weird crew.

The next day was rather, interesting. Kya sat on the railing above the main deck as she watched Luffy paint their pirate flag. "The pirate flag…is finished!" He stood up and yelled after about an hour of painting. Nami, Usopp, and Zoro stood in front of the captain and everyone stared at the…..picture?

"I put a lot of thought on it and this is our pirate flag!" Luffy laughed, smiling brightly. "Ours?" Kya repeated, raising an eyebrow. "His drawing really sucks." Usopp's jaw was nearly on the floor while Nami put a hand under her chin. "Maybe this picture is supposed to be abstract." She thought aloud. "Well, a pirate flag is the symbol of death. This is scary in a way." Zoro added with his arms crossed boredly.

"How is it?" Luffy gave a cheeky smile and Kya smacked her forehead. "You really don't know how to draw. I'll do it myself." Usopp offered, taking the paint from the captain. It didn't take him long, but he drew a really nice flag, aside from the fact it was his own. "You drew your own symbol." Zoro and Luffy hit the back of his head.

"Okay, it looks good now!" Nami said happily, looking at their newly drawn flag. "It looks nice Usopp." Kya smiled at him and kicked her legs back forth from her seat. The boy blushed and smiled at her, giving a small thumbs up. "You guys like?" He asked, obviously proud of his job. "It's totally different from Luffy's." Zoro pointed out from his seat on the floor. "Okay let's draw it on the sail!" Luffy said enthusiastically. "Ever since I was a kid, I painted on people's walls. I've achieved much in the arts." Usopp tried to show off, but Luffy grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to the mast. "Wait a minute. I'll help, since Luffy can't paint." Nami surprisingly offered.

It didn't take them long to paint the sail, but they sure made a mess. "Okay! Now the Going Merry is complete!" Luffy shouted triumphantly, before skipping to the bow. Nami and Usopp collapsed on the ground panting heavily. "I'm so tired." Usopp heaved and Nami sighed in agreement. Zoro chuckled from his seat against the mast while Kya simply shook her head and as she swung her legs back and forth. That is, until a loud boom caused her to fall onto her back. "What the hell?" She stood up, brushing herself off in embarrassment. Stomping her way up to the bow, she saw Luffy standing next to a cannon. "What are you doing?" She practically screamed as Zoro and Usopp walked up the steps behind her.

"I'm practicing canon shooting." He said as if it was normal. "Apparently I'm very bad at it." He added sheepishly, looking at a large rock in the distance. "Let me take a look at it." Usopp walked over to him and the canon. "Shoot that island!" Luffy instructed him, pointing outwards. "Okay!"

It took the long nosed man a few minutes to get the canon situated, but once he did, he hit the rock in one shot. "You're good! Only one shot and you got the target!" Luffy said amazed. "Only one shot?" Usopp repeated, surprised at first but he regained his composure. "See? I'm very good at targeting. If you want, you can call me Captain!" Kya leaned against the wall with her arms under chest, bemused at the scene. "From now on, you're our sharpshooter!" Luffy administered, putting his hands on his sides.

"I said captain." The newly appointed sharpshooter sulked his way to the kitchen. "That was a blow to his self-esteem." Kya chuckled, turning to follow him. "What did I do?" Luffy walked up behind her as he spoke. "Oh nothing." She sung as the two walked into the kitchen.

"I'm going to be captain, okay?" Usopp asked from his seat besides Nami. _'He just doesn't give up.'_ The assassin chuckled to herself as she sat down. "I'm the captain!" Luffy said finally, sitting next to her.

"Okay! I give up! However, if you don't know how to do anything, you have to make me captain of this ship!" Usopp declared, and Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Sure." He said doubtfully before moving on. "Listen I have an idea. Before we enter Grand Line, there's one more crew member hat we should try and find." He said, determination in his face. "Yes, since we have a beautiful kitchen, I will hire someone if I have the money." Nami said, taking a break from whatever writing she was doing. "He's the most important member for a long journey." Zoro added, making Kya nod in agreement. She did not like cooking for this bunch at all. They ate like a crew of a thousand.

"You think so? Real pirates should have…..a musician!"

She hung her head low, clenching her fist. Just when she thought he was going to be smart for once….. "Are you nuts?" Usopp screamed. "For a second I thought you had a good idea, but now you've ruined it." Nami added sadly, putting her head in her hand. "What do you think being a pirate is about?" Zoro chastised but Luffy gave them all an angry look. "What? Shouldn't pirates have some kind of entertainment?" He defended. Kya opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a new voice.

"Show yourself! I'll kill all of you!"

Usopp nearly had a heart attack, spilling his coffee everywhere. "What's that?" Luffy asked, getting up from the table. Kya followed as soon as she heard a loud crash from the main deck. "Hey! Who are you?" Luffy opened the door to see a man kicking barrels around. There stood a man with sunglasses that wrapped around his head, dark black hair, a jacket with some sort of bracelet around his bicep, a dark shirt and long pants. What made him stand out the most was his tattoo located just below his left eye. He clutched his katana tightly and glared at the two pirates. _'Interesting man.'_ She thought idly as she leaned against the railing.

"It's none of your business to know who I am!" The man declared loudly, before lunging forward at the two. "Remember that!" He added, destroying the railing she had been leaning on before as she landed on her feet behind the new character. Luffy landed next to her, an angry gleam in his eye. "I've killed many pirates. Infamous pirates like you two…" He turned around and charged at Luffy. She backed away to the edge of the boat; this was Luffy's fight.

"Shouldn't dare kill my buddy!" He finished, aiming for Luffy's head. _'Buddy? He was on here by himself?'_ She crossed her arms and frowned at the scene. "I don't want you're talking about." Luffy flipped over the man and grabbed his head. "But….stop….destroying my ship!" He flung the man into poor Merry, and he fell to the ground with blood running down his chin. Kya saw Luffy's hat flying in the air, and grabbed it just before it fell into the ocean. "I almost got him…." The man gasped as she handed Luffy his hat. "What are you saying? I don't understand." He muttered, twirling his precious item in his hand. She crossed her arms and stood with a jutted hip and a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Isn't that Johnny?"

She looked at Zoro with a confused look. _'They know each other?' _The battered man looked up and suddenly jumped to his feet. "Brother Zoro!" He shouted happily. "What happened? Where's Yosaku?" Zoro pushed, confused at the scene. "He….Yosaku is…" The man, Johnny presumably, suddenly jumped off the ship. "Johnny!" Zoro yelled, but calmed when he saw that there was a ship tied to the Going Merry.

Luffy stood to his feet and looked at Kya for answers. She shrugged and Zoro walked up on her other side. "Eh, I know these guys. Don't worry, they won't be much harm." He rubbed the back of his head. "They have to leave; they're bounty hunters aren't they?" She asked the older man. "Ah, yeah. But they're old friends. I won't let them do anything."

"I-Is it safe?"

The three turned their heads to see Usopp sheepishly creeping his way down the stairs. "Uh, yah. They're Zoro's friends." Luffy assured him. "Oh…." Was all he said as Johnny came back aboard with another man?

This man looked a little stranger; a buzz cut (and some weird helmet like thing on his head), a long overcoat, shorts, a dark shirt and a kantana strapped on his back. The man had blood pouring from every opening on his head, which was a little strange. "He's sick!" Johnny wailed, looming over his friend's body.

"Sick?" Zoro repeated, crossing his arms. "That looks a little more than sick." Kya snorted, putting a hand on her hip. "Yes, three days ago, he was still healthy. But then he passed out and I don't know why. His teeth started coming out and his old wounds started bleeding. I didn't know what to do, we took a rest at that island, and then…." Johnny was crying into his hand at this point. "This ship shot its canon at us!"

Kya chuckled as Usopp and Luffy's jaws dropped. "We are very sorry!" They bowed to Johnny, who was still crying in his hand. "It's okay." He sniffled. "Since you said you were sorry I won't get the Marines to arrest you." Luffy and Usopp were in tears now; from sadness, relief, and guilt.

"The names 'Yosaku and Johnny' have become well known to many pirates. He's my best buddy whose been helping me catch pirates for years…Will he survive brother?" Johnny cried over his friend while Zoro froze, unable to speak. _'What a bunch of idiots.'_ Kya sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple. She needed to meditate.

"You're very stupid!" Nami suddenly yelled from behind them. "What did you say Nami?" Zoro practically growled at her as Johnny stood up. "You think my friend's death is stupid?" He yelled at her, but she ignored them. "Luffy, Usopp, there are some lemons in the kitchen. Make some lemon juice and bring it here." She instructed, and the two took off up the stairs.

"Lemons?"

"He has scurvy." Kya answered simply as Luffy and Usopp started to pour the juice in the sick man's mouth. "You knew and didn't say anything?" Zoro screamed in her ear, making her flinch. "You were having a moment; it would be rude to interrupt." She explained, shrugging her shoulders. "She's right. If it's not too late, he'll get better in two to three days." Nami added, and Johnny turned to the two girls. "Is that true sisters?" He shouted.

"Don't call me sister!" Nami yelled back at him while Kya chuckled lightly. "In the past, anyone who got scurvy died. However the cause of scurvy is lack of vitamin C, and ships then didn't store any kinds fruits or vegetables on board." The orange hair girl said simply. "You're a miracle doctor!" Luffy marveled. "I knew that you were good." Usopp said simply, making Kya snort. "If you want to become a pirate you should know simple things like this!"

Suddenly, Yosaku jumped to his feet, "I'm healthy now!" he shouted, triumphantly. "Yeah! My buddy is strong now!" Johnny cheered with him. "Scurvy isn't cured that fast!" Nami yelled at them, being the killjoy she was. The two men stopped, clearing their throats before standing next to each other. "Sorry. Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Johnny." He hand his knuckled pressed to his face in a serious manner, and Kya had to hold back a snorts.

"And I am Yosaku. We used to be pirate hunters on brother Zoro's level. Nice to meet you all." The newly 'cured' man held a cigarette between his fingers with his hand up by his face. "How can I repay you? Actually I thought I was going to die!" He continued sheepishly. "However it's unbelievable that Zoro, the Pirate Hunter himself, has become a pirate!" Johnny threw in, chuckling a bit. Yosaku went to say something, but suddenly tumbled back, blood spurting from his mouth. "Yosaku! Buddy!" Johnny ran towards his fallen friend. "Just shut up and rest!" Zoro yelled at them.

Nami told the bounty hunter to carry his partner up to one of the beds in lounge area, leaving the five pirates alone. "This is a good lesson." She said from her seat on the steps. "I never knew that we could sick that easily." Zoro threw in casually, making Kya snort as she leaned against the railing next to Luffy. "If that man didn't find us he would have died." Usopp added as he sat up against the mast. "So during this long journey the person who can make sure everyone has enough food is the cook." He continued and Nami nodded. "Come to think of it, a chef is very important." Nami threw in, as if no one (asides from Luffy) realized that.

"Okay I've decided! We should search for a chef and we'll have a chance to eat really good food!" Luffy shouted, sticking his tongue out. "Punk." Kya punched him on the back of the head, twitching slightly. "Owww! Kya that hurt!" He whined, clutching his newly formed bump. "Don't piss off the people who make your food." She answered curtly before Johnny spoke up, "Oo, oo, oo! Brother!" He shouted, raising his hand.

"What is it, Johnny?" Zoro asked boredly. "If you are looking for a chef, I would like to recommend one place. However I'm not sure that one would join you." Johnny said, smiling lightly as the crew moved over to crowd around him. "Where would that be?" Luffy pressed, ogling at the bounty hunter. "There's a restaurant ship not very far from here. It has some of the best cooks!" Kya leaned up against the mast and stared at the sky boredly; she'd been there once, Baratie she thought it was called.

"Restaurant ship?" Luffy repeated, clasping his hands together. "Yes from here it should take us two to three days to get there. But you have to be careful, it's close to the Grand Line; there might be some bad pirates there." The he turned to Zoro and said lightly: "I've heard that 'Hawkeyes man' that you've been searching for used to appear there too."

Kya's body went rigid. That was a lie right? He was only kidding. That man wouldn't be there, he would never visit somewhere like East Blue. She furrowed her eyebrows at the sky, ignoring the cheering from the crew, and dug her nails into her arms. _'That bastard. Who does he think he is?'_ She growled in her mind, digging into her flesh harder. _'I'm going to kill him.'_ Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her away from the mast.

"You were hurting yourself." Luffy said bluntly, squeezing her wrists tightly. She looked at her arms, seeing the small cuts where her fingernails were plunged into her flesh. "I'm fine." She ripped her arms away from the boy, ignoring the rest of the crews' stares. "I was just thinking." She said lightly, but the captain frowned. "You looked upset." She smiled at him. "It's nothing, I just need to think. I'll be okay." She reassured him before making her way to the kitchen.

"Of all people to run in to." She murmured grabbing a bottle of gin and pouring it into a small glass. _'Here goes to the miserable years because of that man.'_ She downed the drink and it burned her throat as it went down. _'And again.' _She downed another.

"It's a little early to be drunk."

'_And here's to an annoying ass crew.' _ She downed another before turning to the swordsman. "It's never too early to be drunk." She replied haughtily, holding the bottle up to him. "Want some?"

"No." Zoro waved it off and shut the door behind him. "Why did you do tense up when Johnny mentioned Hawkeyes?" He demanded, getting straight to the point. "Why did you?" She shot back, downing another shot. "You know why." He growled, grabbing the bottle from her. "No, I don't." She shrugged lightly, reaching for the bottle. "Answer my question." He kept the bottle out of her reach. "All in due time my friend." She replied clandestinely as she snatched the bottle from his hand. "Why can't you just tell me?" He leaned against the counter, glaring at her.

"Your interrogation skills suck."

He huffed, racking his brain for a snarky remark, but nothing came to him. "Just don't get plastered." He muttered before leaving her alone in the room. As she heard the door click shut, she leaned up against the counter, grasping it tightly. It would have been easier to just tell him, to get it out of the way but she couldn't force herself to speak the words. _'Keep calm.'_ She thought before downing her last drink. _'That's all I can do.'_


	13. True Love

**Chapter 13**

**"I heard that chivalry was dead, but I think it's just got a bad flue." -Meg Ryan**

* * *

'_It's a peaceful day.'_

Kya placed her pink hair in a ponytail, leaving her blacks to hand lightly over her forehead. _'We're nearing the Grand Line.'_ She thought lightly leaning back against the wall on the main deck. _'I didn't think we'd manage to get this far though.'_ She fixed her tube top before crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes. Her peace was short lived though, per usual.

"We've arrived at the restaurant! Brother Zoro! Brother Luffy! Brother Usopp! Sister Kya! Sister Nami!" Johnny cried out loudly. "Is it really necessary to call us brother and sister?" The assassin muttered as she stood up and brushed herself off. Walking up the stairs, she saw a large fish-looking building off in the distance. Nami, Usopp, and Luffy were pretty much leaning over the railing in awe.

"How's that everybody?" Johnny asked them, proud of his accomplishment. "A giant fish?" Luffy asked stupidly, and Kya hit her palm against her forehead. "Wow!" Nami gasped, standing behind the four boys. "This is so exciting!" Usopp nearly cried.

Their focus was adverted, however; a Marine ship came gliding up to their side. "Shit. That's a Marine ship." Kya muttered as Johnny and Yosaku tried to hide behind the railing. "When did it come?" Luffy's jaw dropped slightly. "Don't tell me they're going to attack us." Usopp whined, backing away from the railing.

That's when a young man turned towards them from the enemy ship. He had medium length light pink hair, a pin striped suit, a scar under his right eye, and both his knuckles had bolts attached to them. "I've never seen that flag before. I am Lieutenant Fullbody," he held up one of his bolt knuckled hands, "the Iron Fist, of the Marines. Who is you captain?"

"Me! I'm Luffy! I just finished my flag two days ago!" The straw hat boy did not look very amused. "Two days ago." Johnny repeated gruffly, still attempting to hide with Yosaku, who laughed with a cigarette in his mouth. "He's cool!"

"I'm Usopp."

Kya sighed, dropping her head. "Idiots." She muttered, making Zoro, who hadn't said anything so far, chuckle and slap her shoulder. "Loosen up." He advised her, but she only shrugged his hand off. "Ah! I've seen both of you before. In some government office." Fullbody turned to Johnny and Yosaku. "Oh! You're those shabby bounty hunters Yosaku and Johnny, right? You've been caught by these pirates?" The lieutenant shoved his hands in his pocket casually.

"Hey, Yosaku! That guys asking for trouble." Johnny 'hmphed' angrily to his partner. "You said that we're shabby hunters? That's really rude. Even though we won't get one Beli, we should teach him a lesson Johnny." Yosaku agreed, and the two men pulled their katana out. "You stupid Marine!"

They jumped off the Merry and onto the Marine ship, only to each earn a punch in the face by Fullbody and sending them flying onto their backs. "We almost got him." Yosaku said, his face bloody and swollen. Kya twitched at the pain of being hit with those bolts. "You really suck." Luffy said blatantly.

"He's good!"

"We almost got him!"

"What are you doing?" Zoro sighed, a hand on his hip. "Fullbody~! Stop teasing them and let's go!" A woman's voice called out from the Marine ship. "Okay." The Marine turned backed to the pirates, showing off his knuckles again. "You're very lucky because I'm on vacation. I just want to eat and have a good time here. But you'd better be careful. If I meet you again while I'm on duty, none of you will survive." He said darkly before the ship headed to dock.

"What an arrogant git." Kya grumbled, watching the Marine ship with a keen eye. Something hitting her leg caught her attention, and she looked down to see a wanted poster by her foot, while more were surrounding Johnny and Yosaku. "What's this Johnny?" Nami asked, noticing them too. She bent down on her knees next to the poor man and clutched a wanted poster tightly. "These? They're wanted posters. It's a very good business. If we can kill these people we get money." When she didn't answer, he looked up at the girl. "Is something wrong?"

"Hey danger! Those Marines are pointing their cannon at us!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Usopp who was pointing at the Marine ship. "What did you say?" Zoro shouted, grabbing his swords. "If this ship gets ruined….." Kya trailed off, clenching her fists. They had just gotten the damned thing!

A loud bang declared that the Marines had fired. "They fired!" Usopp shouted, his knees shaking. She wanted to cry from pure shamefulness. How could she have picked such an idiotic crew? "Leave that to me!" Luffy declared, jumping up on the railing. She let out a breath; at least he knew what he was doing sometimes.

"Gomu Gomu no…..Balloon!"

The captain expanded his body into a ball causing Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku jaws' to dropped. The cannon ball hit him directly, only to be sent flying back. "Take this back!" He shouted, but the cannon ball missed miserably and hit the restaurant. "Where do you think you're bouncing that cannon ball to stupid?" Kya and Zoro shouted angrily before Luffy released the air in him and fell on his back. "We're in for it now." She smacked the side of her face and walked over to Luffy. "Do you realize what you've just done?" She asked, picking the boy up by his collar. "Destroyed a building." He murmured lightly, making her sigh. "Whatever punishment needs to be fulfilled, you'll be the one doing it, got it?" She released her grip on and he let out a breath. "You're not as mean as Nami." He muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"What was that?"

"N-N-Nothing!" He grabbed Kya and threw her in front of him. "I didn't say anything!" He defended as Nami came marching up to them. She glared at him for a moment, but looked passed him to see the dock approaching. "We're here." She grimaced, leaning over the railing. There stood a group of chefs, steaming in anger. "Ah well, here you go Luffy." Kya grabbed him by the arm and tossed him over to the chefs. "He's the one who did it." She told them as the hoisted the young man away.

"That was a little harsh, Kya-san." Usopp said dryly, watching the scene weirdly. "At least I didn't beat the crap out of him." She looked at Nami, who stomped her foot. "You should have let me!" She nearly screamed. "What would be the point in that?" Kya shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're too soft on him!" Nami was nearly screeching at this point. "He's our captain he can do whatever the hell he wants." Kya answered calmly.

"He's a child." Nami inched closer to the shorter girl. "As are you." Kya leaned back against the railing. That did Nami in. "You know what Kya! You're full of crap! I bet you're just planning to kill us all in the middle of the night and steal everything we have!"

The air was tense, and for a while no one thought Kya had anything to say and Nami had won the small argument. "So that's what you think?" Kya's temper was flaring now, she couldn't help but want to strangle the navigator. "So because I used to be an assassin means that I'm going to deceive and kill everyone I ever meet, is that it?" She moved closer to the orange haired girl. "N-N-No I didn't mean-"

"You didn't mean what? That I'm a traitor? A backstabber? A murderer? Well you know what Nami-" She went to lunge forward but Zoro moved in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Stop." He said, glaring down at her. "I'm going to strangle her." She growled, attempting to push him out of the way but he stood his ground. "We don't need this right now." He gripped her shoulders tighter and she stared up at him with her blue eyes. "Whatever." She pushed him away and turned around and leaned over the railing.

'_That bitch.'_ She pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes. _'I nearly lost it there. It's probably because I haven't slept in a while.' _She let out a breath as Zoro sat down against the railing next to her and Usopp pulled Nami to the other side of the bow. "Was that like a girl thing?" The swordsman asked smugly, earning a slight kick to the side. "I was kidding. It's a good thing you two don't sleep in the same room. She'd be dead by now." She chuckled lightly. "I nearly killed her the day she said I had to sleep with you guys." She said lightly, rubbing her eyes. "It's not like you sleep though. Luffy's always waking you up at midnight to eat." He threw in, making her snort. "Have you been watching me now?" He gave a short laugh. "You wish." This time she kicked him in the head lightly. "Baka."

They sat around for a while with little small talk before Zoro finally spoke up again. "Where is Luffy? Maybe they made him work for a month." He said jokingly. "Why didn't he tell them it was an accident caused by those Marines? He's stubborn!" Nami whined angrily. "Why don't we go and see him? We can eat there too. How about it?" Usopp said, having a good idea for once. "Sounds good." Kya said before jumping off the Merry.

The four of them walked in silence up to the host's desk but no one was there. "Where'd he go?" Usopp asked quietly peering around the desk. "Ah, sounds like a big commotion in there. He's probably busy with it." She said, leaning against the wall. Within ten minutes a young man with dark hair and a suit came up to them. "So sorry for the wait. Four is it?" He asked, grabbing a few menus. "Yes. Thank you." Kya said unenthusiastically as she followed the man inside. "Say, have you seen a boy here with a straw hat?" She asked him and he began to laugh slightly. "Ah ya, that idiot destroyed the restaurant so now he has to work here for a year." He said still chuckling.

"That baka." She sighed as she began to look through the menu. "I can't believe he has to work here for a year." Zoro grumbled from her right side at the table. "He should have just kicked their asses." Usopp muttered from her left, while Nami stayed silent.

After a booze and wine filled lunch, with no sign of Luffy, Kya sat forward with a hand on her face and her elbow on the table. "Guess we're going to have to search for that bloke." She muttered, swishing her wine around in the cup. Just after she spoke, the doors from the kitchen opened and out walked Luffy with an apron on.

"What's up servant?" Nami waved at him jokingly as the boy spotted his crew. "Heard that you have to work here for a year." Usopp snickered, only making Luffy more upset. "Guess I'm captain now." Kya joked, placing her finger in between her teeth as she smiled. "Can I change our pirate flag?" Zoro asked, ticking the poor boy off.

"You're comfortably sitting here and enjoying food while I'm suffering! Don't you think that's unfair!" He shouted loudly, gaining attention from the whole restaurant. Zoro turned his head towards Kya and Usopp while Luffy, seemingly unbeknownst to the swordsman, picked his nose and slipped snot into his glass of water. "Unfair? But we have our rights." Zoro said and Kya placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter. "That's true." Usopp sung over his giggles.

"This restaurant is very good." The green-haired man picked up his water and held it near his mouth, causing the others to laugh even more. "It seems unfair to you…" That's when he stood and shoved the glass of water into Luffy's mouth. "But why don't you drink this yourself?" He shouted as the other three howled in laughter. "What are you doing?" Luffy screeched, flailing on the ground. "What about you! What the hell were you doing?" Zoro shouted back at him but their argument was cut short.

"Oh! Thank god I've met you today. Oh love you can just laugh at me!"

A young man, possibly Zoro's age and his height, came rushing over to Nami. He had blonde hair covering one eye, the eye that was showing was in the shape of a heart and his eyebrow was unnaturally swirly. He also had a small goatee, a cigarette hanging from his lips, and a nice suit. _'He's a fairly attractive man. Weird, but attractive none the less.'_ Kya thought boredly, taking a sip of her wine.

"As long as you are with me I can become a pirate or an evil being! Oh, but our destiny is so doomed!" He cried to Nami, hearts floating around him. "Is that because of me?" A new voice questioned, gaining everyone's attention. There stood an old man in a chef's uniform with a braided mustache, small beard, and a wooden leg. "Old man!" The suited boy cried angrily. "This is a good chance. Yu just go and become a pirate. We don't want you anymore." The old man said harshly.

"Hey! Crazy old man! I am the second chef of this restaurant! You said that the restaurant doesn't need me anymore….what do you mean?" The younger man asked lowly. "You always fight with the customers. Your food is not that good. You will drag this restaurant down. Everyone here doesn't like you, and I think you know that. Therefore, you'd better get out of here and become a pirate or whatever you want to do. The best thing is that you'd get out of this restaurant as soon as possible."

"What are you talking about? You think that I am not upset about this, crazy old man?" The blonde boy grabbed the old man's collar. "For whatever reason you can't despise my food! Anyway, I won't leave here because you told me to!" The older chef grabbed the boy. "How dare you hold my collar you little brat!" He yelled, smashing the boy into the Straw Hats' table. Kya barely had time to save her wine and the others managed to save the food. "Dammit." The boy pushed the pieces of the table off him. "Listen! I don't care how many times you tell me to leave, but I'll be a chef here forever! You got a problem with that? I will stay here until you die!"

"I won't die, for 100 years." The old man said, casually walking away. "Watch your words!" The younger man stood from the floor next to Luffy. "That's good. You got permission from the owner. You can become a pirate now." Luffy chuckled at the man, who only got angrier. "Who wants to!"

Then he suddenly turned to Kya and got down on one knee before grabbing her hand. "Mademoiselle." He said sensually, planting a slight kiss of his nicotine stained lips on her soft hands. "I'm sorry for ignoring you earlier. I did not see you; but how foolish of me to miss such beauty." He looked up at her with sparkling eyes. For a moment she had no idea what to do. She'd never had a man act this….kind (if that was the right word) to her. _'Maybe it's a good thing.'_

"It's quite alright, love." She said, smiling lightly. The man nearly had a heart attack, squealing something about 'true love' before pushing her chair next to Nami's. Within seconds their table was resurrected and he had both his arms around their shoulder, pouring wine and placing food out. "I am sorry for the mess. As an apology I've ordered you two a fruit Macedonia along with grain mane wine." He said, smiling happily. "Thanks!" Nami clapped her hands, while Kya smiled at him. "You're too kind." She said, giggling slightly. "That's okay ma'am." He said seemingly calm, but his heart was turning to mush.

"Hey! How about us? That's so unfair gallant chef!" Usopp shouted from across the table. "I've ordered you hot tea and you're still unsatisfied, asshole?" The chef growled in his face. "What? Do you want to fight? Beat him up, Zoro."

"Why don't you do that yourself?" Zoro muttered as Kya took her first bite of the fruit. "This must be the best thing I've had in a long time." She said, a little surprised, but her voice wen unheard. "You don't even take dishes away from a man." Usopp continued to complain. "You still didn't finish your mushrooms. Eat it." The chef said angrily. "I left it because I hate mushrooms! I ate a poisonous mushroom when I was a kid once." Usopp growled, getting in the man's face. "But this is not a poisonous mushroom, so eat it!"

Kya chuckled to herself, downing more of the delicious wine. "Would you stop fighting for me?" Nami cooed. "Yes ma'am!" The chef said, floating over to the two girls. "Who will do that for you!" Usopp shouted. "By the way mister chef." She grabbed his face lightly and he smiled strangely. "The food here is quite expensive for us so…"

"Don't worry! It's on the house for you two!" He cried as Nami hugged him and Kya winked. "I am so happy! Thank you very much!" Nami said before he turned to Usopp. "But you still have to pay." He said, making the sharpshooter annoyed.

The cook poured the girls two more glasses of wine before walking away to serve others. "You two are tricky." Zoro muttered, making Kya giggle as she drank more wine. _'This is amazing.'_ She thought to herself, hearing the chef coo to more girls. "Sanji-san! Long time no see!" A few girls said to him as they walked in. "Welcome ladies!" He cried, more hearts in his eyes. "He's really a gallant." Usopp muttered from Kya's side. That's when the chef, Sanji, came back only to kick Luffy on the back of his head. "You are a servant! You don't have the right to sit with the customers!" He picked the rubber man up and dragged him away. "When the customer comes in, you have to bring them a hot towel. Understand?"

* * *

They had been docked here for two days; a waste of two days if you asked Kya. Currently she was laying on the bow staring at the sky. _'I haven't spoken to Nami since the fight. Maybe I should apologize.'_ She scrunched her face. _'No. She started it. She can apologize.' _

"Sister."

She turned her head to look at Johnny and Yosaku, who were currently bandaged and laid up on the bow with her. "You look confused." Yosaku said lightly making her laugh. "I'm fine." She reassured them before looking back at the sky. There were no birds, and that gave her an eerie feeling.

"Kya. Come look at this." Zoro said deeply from the railing. She groaned, but complied and got to her feet. "Shit." She mumbled, walking up next to him. "That's Don Krieg's pirate ship." He nodded, clutching the railing. "Their ship looks a little beat up though." He said, clutching one of his katanas. "Ah, looks pretty bad too. It doesn't seem that a lot of people are alive on it."

"Hey! I don't want to get involved with this! Let's go!" Usopp cried fearfully. "Let's go brother! We don't want to die!" Johnny and Yosaku threw in together. She sighed, looking the ship up and down. The sails were torn to shreds, half the lion figure head was missing, and the ship looked nearly cut in half.

'_It looks like it could have been him….' _She clutched the railing so tight her knuckles were white. _'Or it could have been a cyclone.' _ She tapped a finger on the railing and chewed her lip. _'It's best to leave. If he is here, we don't want to meet him. Not now anyways.' _

She watched as the patrons of the diner exited from the back and onto a ship, leaving the scene quickly. "Should we go in?" She looked at Zoro, who shrugged and looked at Usopp. "I think I'm getting I-shouldn't-go-in-that-restaurant-disease." He muttered, clutching his stomach. "Don't be a wimp." She chuckled, slapping his back before hopping off the ship. "Nami, stay here and watch over Johnny and Yosaku." Zoro instructed, grabbing the sharp shooter and following Kya's footsteps. "Got it." Nami said emotionlessly.

"Are you sure we should go in here?" Usopp muttered as the three of them snuck in the back of the restaurant. "Ah, we're fine." Kya said simply, sitting down at one of the tables. "We'll just wait here till Luffy needs our help." Zoro told him, sitting in a seat to her right. "O-Okay." The long nosed boy stuttered as he sat on her other side.

"Honor Zeff?"

"Zeff?" Kya repeated quietly, looking at the scene around them. There was man in iron armor standing by the doorway with the long mustached chef from earlier today. The other chefs were laid out with bullet wounds while Sanji and Luffy stood in front of them. "You want food for 100 people right? Take this to your crew." The one legged chef told the iron clad man. _'That must be Don Krieg.' _She thought aimlessly. "Zeff? You're Zeff?" Krieg voiced her other question.

"What are you thinking honor? If we let these pirates have food , once they regain their strength they will take this ship!" One of the chefs cried out fearfully. "That will depend on their spirits!" Zeff told them sternly and they all gave him confused looks. "Isn't that right? Fugitives from Grand Line?"

"G-Grand Line fugitives?" Usopp muttered, shaking in his seat. "Ah, looks like he wasn't strong enough." Kya chuckled lightly, making circles with her fingers on the table as the other people in the room began to shout. "Then how'd you get out?" Zoro asked her suspiciously. "That's a long story." She smiled at him but he only shrugged her off.

"You are still alive, Red Leg Zeff?" Krieg asked darkly. "The famous pirate who was both captain and chef of his ship?" _'Never would have thought he worked here.' _She thought to herself boredly; she'd only heard stories about the old man. "So what if I am still alive? It's none of our business. As you can see now, I just live as a chef." Zeff said coldly "It's so lucky for me." Krieg laughed loudly. "As I see, it seems that you _have to_ be a chef because you have no other choice. You are not the same Zeff the Red Leg that I used to know. When people talk about Zeff, they think of a man who has a powerful kick. And every time he fought he never used his hands. Your one kick could destroy a whole cliff. Even if you kicked iron you would leave a mark. The name red leg, came from that very powerful kick. Every time you kicked your enemy his blood would cover your leg and change it to red. Even though you did not die in an accident as I have heard, you have lost a leg, which means that you do not have any more power."

It was silent for a while, everyone seemed to be taking in Krieg's words. _'What an ass.'_ Kya chewed the inside of her lip; trying not to voice her opinion. "Even though I can't fight, I can still cook as long as I have these two arms. What is your point by saying these things?" Zeff asked, unfazed by the other pirate's words. "You've been to the Grand Line and returned safely right? During that time you must have written a journal. I want that journal from you!" Krieg shouted maniacally.

"Wow! You've been to the Grand Line?" Luffy asked the old man, ignoring the whole point of everything. "Well…" Zeff started, ignoring the young captain. "My journal? Sure it has to be with me, but I won't give it to you. The journal is the pride of my crew and myself while we traveled together. It is too much if I have to give it to you."

"So I have to use my strength to take it from you? Even though I am a fugitive from the Grand Line, I can get through the Grand Line again if I had enough power and men! I've never been afraid of that place like any other wimps!" Krieg shouted before calming a little. "I was lost because I don't have enough 'information'. That's why I need that journal."

His statement sent the chefs into an outrage. "Ah maybe we should go." Usopp whispered, trying to leave again. "No, no. Everything's fine." Kya reassured him, waving her hand lightly. "You ever met that Zeff guy before?" Zoro asked her, his swords in his lap. "No." She shook her head. "I've only heard about him."

"After I get that journal, I will gather men and go back to the Grand Line. I will acquire One Piece, the ultimate treasure, and I will be the greatest pirate of all!"

"Wait a minute!" The three of them looked up to see Luffy pointing at Krieg. "I am the one who will become the greatest pirate ever! Not you!" He shouted defiantly. "Kid!" The chefs around them shouted, while a larger one yelled out angrily: "Come back here or you'll be killed!"

"This is the only thing I just can't concede!" Luffy finished, ignoring the others. "What the hell are you saying kid? You can take your words back." Krieg said smugly. "I don't have to take them back because I speak the truth!" The younger boy shouted back. "If we get this restaurant destroyed we're in some deep shit." Kya murmured, leaning back against her seat.

"This is not a joke." Krieg was obviously taken aback by the boy's boldness. "I know!" Luffy shouted back as Usopp spoke; really loudly. "Did you hear that though? Krieg said he couldn't get through the Grand Line. Don't be upset but I don't think we should go there." All attention was on the three of them now. "You'd better shut up!" Zoro nearly screamed, while Kya simply sighed at their ignorance. "You going to fight Luffy?" Usopp asked, ready to run if he needed to. "Need some help?" Zoro smirked, throwing his katana over his shoulder. "We won't steal all your thunder." She winked, smiling lightly. "You're still here?" Luffy asked, slightly surprised. "No, I don't need any help. Just stay there."

That's when Krieg broke out into a fit of laughter. "Are they your crew?" He continued to laugh, making the four of them frown deeply. "Only a bunch of kids!" Luffy held up two fingers defiantly. "That's not all! I also have two more!" He said. "Hey! Why are you counting me too?" Sanji yelled from the background.

"Stop fooling around kid!" Krieg yelled, extremely serious. "Because I lacked information my 5000 men and 50 ships were destroyed in only seven days on that evil sea!" Everyone in the room seemed to panic. "Did you hear that? Fifty ships were destroyed in seven days!" Usopp whimpered to the other two. "That's so interesting." Zoro said, a little amused by the story. "That's pretty normal." Kya muttered, crossing her arms. "I am not kidding because I hate that. If anyone doesn't believe me I will kill them. Listen." Krieg grabbed a bag that had been placed in front of him earlier. "I will give everyone a chance. Think it over while I am taking this food back to my crew. I'll be back. If you don't want to die, just go while my crew is eating. My goal is just a journal and this ship. If you want to die, I'll help you, even though that could cost me some time." And with that, Krieg left the restaurant, leaving a crying man on the floor.

"Who is that?" Usopp muttered and Kya shrugged. "Beats me." She whispered, placing her feet on the table. "Sanji-san, I am very sorry! I never thought that it would come out like this! I-" The young man was cut off by Zeff. "You don't have to apologize for feeling guilty. Everyone here always does something for their own sake."

"So you think you can make it in the Grand Line?" Kya shot a smirk at Zoro as the chefs began to argue. "Ah, I'm sure we'll be fine." He said smugly. "I mean you made it out so it can't be that hard right?" He added, making her twitch in annoyance. "You better watch your words boy." She growled lowly.

"You've already seen how strong Captain Krieg is! You'd better get out of here!" The injured young man yelled out suddenly, cutting through the pirates' conversation. "Gin." Sanji started, taking a puff from his cigarette. "I must tell you that it is my duty as a chef to give food to starving people." Luffy sauntered his way over to his crew's table and sat down on the top casually as Sanji continued talking. "But the man who just walked out from here is a pirate who robbed us of food. So if I'm going to kill him you have no right to stop me. Whoever dares to take this restaurant, even you, I will kill without mercy. Understand?" He finished darkly. "You are the one who gave him food and now you'll kill him? What's up with you Sanji? Are you out of your mind?" A bald chef with a pitchfork asked the suited boy. "Bastard chef…won't mind your own business."

"See? He's a good man, right?" Luffy said after explaining that Sanji would be the crew's chef. "I don't care about him! Let's just get out of this place!" Usopp said harshly, getting ready to leave. "Calm down! The enemy is just a bunch of sick people." Zoro said, annoyed with the sharpshooter. "Ya, it shouldn't be that hard." Kya threw in casually. "Right! Besides I have to fight Krieg. If he's that good, it'll either be me or him that dies." Luffy said manically before turning to Gin. "By the way, Gin. You told us that you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but you've been there right?"

The poor young man cringed horribly and turned as he hunched over. "I don't know anything because I can't believe what happened to us. After we've been there for seven days I'm still not sure if it was a dream or the truth. It all happened so fast. Fifty powerful pirate ships…were destroyed by only one man!" Everyone in the room tensed.

"Are you kidding me!"

"What did you say?"

"Only one person destroyed all those ships?"

"While we were confused, our ships were sunk one by one. If there wasn't a storm, our mother ship would have been destroyed too. I don't know whether the other ships will survive or not, it was the scariest thing I've ever encountered. It's hard to believe this nitemare. When we saw the man's eyes, we felt that we were already dead." Gin paused a moment to take a deep breath before shouting.

"I don't want to think about that Hawk Eyes man!"

"What?" Zoro strained, while Kya froze, her eyes wide. "No…." She whispered. "That isn't possible." She leaned forward and placed her head in her hands. _'If he did this….and he didn't finish….'_ "He's coming." She finished her thoughts out loud. This was definitely not the outcome she was looking for.

* * *

**If you can't tell, I kind of don't really like Nami all that much...**


	14. Family Affairs

**Chapter 14**

**"If I let you in, you'd just want out. If I tell you the truth, you'd vie for a lie. If I spilt my guts, it would make a mess we can't clean up. If you follow me, you'll only get lost. If you try to get closer, we'll only lose touch."-Don't Go, Bring Me The Horizon**

* * *

"The powerful Krieg pirates were defeated by one man?"

Everyone in the room was a little shocked and/or tense at Gin's revelation of who destroyed the fleet. The poor man was hunched over with his head in his hands shaking uncontrollably. Kya was merely copying his movements; her head in her hands as she leaned on the table with her elbows in fear.

"He must be the 'Hawk Eyes Man'." Zeff said calmly. "Based on your story, the 'eyes that look like hawk eyes' might not be enough evidence, but if that man could do something like that, I think it's enough to believe that he was the 'Hawk Eyes'." He finished, making everyone gasp. "The-The Hawk Eyes…?" Usopp asked, frightened for a moment before turning to Luffy, confused. "Do you know who he is?" He asked, and Luffy shrugged. "I don't know. Who?"

"He is the person I'm looking for." Zoro said darkly, making the young woman sit up suddenly. "Zoro, no." She growled angrily, but he blew her off. "From what Johnny told me, this restaurant-" The chefs cut him off with their loudness.

"The Hawk Eyes?"

"I only know of that 'Drunk Eyes' that used to come here."

"Ya, that man drank too much wine and became very drunk."

"Then he burned himself. And that was a very beautiful flame."

Zoro made an angry sound before speaking lowly. "That stupid Johnny gave me the wrong information." He muttered. "What's wrong with Johnny?" Luffy asked, not hearing the swordsman well. "Nothing." Kya furrowed her eyebrows. "You can't fight him." She said angrily and he glanced at her. "And why not? I have to beat him to become the strongest swordsman." He argued. "I swear to god if you fight that man if he comes here and live I'll kill you." She growled at him, making him chuckle.

"I don't remember anything, everything happened so suddenly." Gin whimpered quietly. "Maybe it's because you interrupted his nap." Zeff said seriously. "Don't joke around! If that was true why would he destroy our fifty ships!" Gin shouted loudly. "You don't have to be so upset. I guess it's just because so many people say that the Grand Line is a dangerous place like that." Zeff told him calmly.

"You mean it's not strange that this happened to them?" Zoro asked. "Wow! That's so exciting! I really have to go there!" Luffy suddenly shouted making Usopp freak out. "Aren't you afraid just a little?" Kya was still in shock; one of the people she despised most was probably coming to the restaurant and the fact that her crewmate was about to throw his life away to fight him. All this made her head spin painfully.

"That also means my goal really involves the Grand Line because that man is there." Zoro said darkly, leaning back in his chair. "…..You're crazy. You guys are going to die." Sanji suddenly said from across the room. "That may be right, but to say that we're crazy is too much." Zoro argued, gaining everyone's attention. "After I decided I would become the strongest swordsman, I left my life behind. The only person that has the right to say I'm crazy is myself." He finished proudly. "Yes, me too!" Luffy raised his hand smiling. "That's true for a real man like myself!" Usopp threw in, earning a hit to the head with the hilt of Zoro's katana. "Stop lying!" Kya crossed her arms and sighed. "I can say that every single one of you is crazy." She muttered.

"Gee, that's crazy." Sanji said boredly before the bald chef began screaming. "You still don't understand what's going on? The ship that's docked in front of our restaurant is the giant galleon ship that belonged to Don Krieg. It is also the ship of the scariest pirate in East Blue. Do you understand now? You can do any crazy thing after you take care of this!" He cried out as there was a loud rumbling of voices coming from outside. Kya quickly stood to her feet and made her way over to the fallen man of Krieg's fleet. "You should get out of the way." She said lightly, feeling sorry for the man for enduring the wrath of Hawk Eyes. He looked up at her and nodded, blushing slightly. She grabbed his hand and helped him up as the cooks began to shout yet again.

"Here they come!"

"We have to protect our ship!"

A few men came raining down and Kya put Gin's arm around her shoulder to help him up. ""Get out of our way, stupid chefs!" the pirates yelled cockily. Just as it seemed like the whole crew would jump out, there was a loud crashing sound that sent the waves ten feet high and the galleon to pieces. "Damn! Nami, Yosaku and Johnny are still on the ship!" She heard Zoro yell from behind her. "Shit. I'm going to set you right down in the chair. Okay?" She put the sickly man in a nearby chair before taking off after her crew.

It looked as though a storm was raging outside and the Merry was nowhere in sight. She slid up to the railing on Zoro's other side, only to see Johnny and Yosaku flailing in the water. "Brother help!" The cried together. "Are you okay Johnny, Yosaku! What about the ship? Where is the ship! What happened to Nami?" Zoro yelled out at them. "Brother! The ship isn't here anymore! Sister Nami took all the treasure and escaped with your ship!"

"What?"

It took the crew a while, but they managed to pull the two bounty hunters up to the deck, where they instantly fell to their knees and began crying. "We are really sorry brother!" Johnny screamed before explaining what happened. Kya rubbed her temples as she listened to how it happened; Nami had tricked them to turn around before pushing the two off the boat and taking off. _'That bitch!'_

"Damn it! I thought she'd changed! But behind our back, she is still the same person as before!" Zoro shouted angrily. "We're doomed." Usopp said, tears in his eyes. "And she said _**I**_ was the backstabbing one!" Kya huffed, kicking the railing.

"Wait! I can still see our ship!" Luffy said suddenly, looking out into the horizon. Sure enough, there was the Merry Go, sailing away peacefully. "Look! Let's go after it! Yosaku, Johnny, how about your boat?" The boy turned to the partners. "It's still here." They said uncertainly.

"Zoro! Usopp! Kya!"

"Just leave her. There's no reason to follow her." Zoro said coldly, and Kya nodded in agreement. "She doesn't mean anything anymore." She said blatantly. "But that ship is important!" Usopp told them. "That ship is-"

"I want only her to be our navigator." Luffy declared finally. Kya stared into the boy's eyes for a minute, before sighing. "I'm only doing it for the ship." She muttered as Zoro put a hand on his forehead. "Okay, okay. I get it. You really give me a headache. Let's go Usopp." He said boredly as the three of them walked over to where Johnny and Yosaku's ship was docked. "Brother Zoro! Over here! We have prepared our boat for you!" Yosaku yelled out.

"How about you Luffy?" Usopp asked before they got on the boat. "I'll stay here because I don't want to owe them." He said simply. "Take care. This place is pretty dangerous." Zoro said sternly and Kya nodded. "Try not to cause too much damage." Their captain nodded. "Got it!"

"That man!"

"Captain Krieg! That man is the person who destroyed our ships!"

"He is chasing us here? Does he want to kill us?"

Kya froze in her place, slightly turning her head to look at the darkness coming from behind the galleon. "Is he the "Hawk Eyes"?" Zoro muttered from beside her. _'No. No. No. It's not him. It can't be!'_ She tried to tell herself but failed miserably upon seeing the small ship that held the swordsman. An icy chill ran down her spine as he lifted his head to show his eyes.

"Damn you! You don't have anything to do with us! Why do you have to follow us?" One of Krieg's pirates shouted from the broken ship, two pistols in his hands. "Just to kill time." Mihawk finally spoke, his voice deep and dark. "Stop insulting us!" The pirate shouted and began firing.

"Don't do this." She watched painfully as Zoro began to walk towards the fighting. "Ah, I have to." He said simply. She went to go after him but Luffy's arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into his chest. "Let him do this." He said quietly. "Luffy! You don't understand! He's going to die!" She cried, watching with wide eyes as Mihawk pulled his long, cross like sword to stop the bullets and the young captain only held onto her tighter.

"He missed?" Krieg's pirates shouted in fear. "No matter how many times you try, you will miss shooting him." Zoro said from his new spot on the broken galleon. "He uses his sword to change the course of the bullets." The pirates dispersed in dear at the sight of the green haired man. "Who are you?" One shouted, but his question was left unanswered.

"I've never seen someone with such gentle skill before." Zoro marveled and Kya brought her hands up to Luffy's arms and squeezed them tightly. "If a sword doesn't have gentleness it is not strong." Mihawk said simply.

"Luffy you have to stop him. He doesn't know what he's getting in to." She murmured lightly, not wanting to see her friend get killed. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's strong." The taller boy chuckled lightly. "No, Luffy. This man is different than any we've seen before." She swallowed before sighing. "But if this is his choice, then it's his choice."

"I have looked for you a long time." Zoro pulled his bandana off his arm. "What do you want from me?" Mihawk asked, slightly annoyed. "The ultimate powers." Zoro tied his bandana around his head. "You're free right? Why don't fight me?"

Sighing, she slipped from Luffy's grasp. "We might not be leaving with him." She murmured, jumping onto the boat with Usopp and the other two bounty hunters. "Hey! This isn't good Luffy! Our ship is almost out of sight!" The sharpshooter cried out, but he went unheard.

"I really feel sorry for you, weakling." Mihawk said coldly, no expression on his face. "Even the greatest swordsman won't fight me because they can estimate their power and compare it to me." He continued as he stepped up onto the broken ship with Zoro. "Your strong will that wants to challenge me comes from your brave heart…..or from your foolishness."

"It is my dream and my promise to my best friend." Zoro said sincerely placing his katana in his mouth. Kya chewed the inside of her cheek. Was there any point in stopping this? No. No one would listen. Zoro would never let her hear the end of it. Though, when he finds out how she knows this despicable human he'll never let her hear the end of that either.

"I never thought I would find you so soon." Zoro said, all three of his swords out and ready. "That does not make you any better." Mihawk told him. "The greatest swordsman and the pirate hunter?" Someone asked from the other side of the restaurant. "No one can defeat brother!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted cockily.

That's when Mihawk did something surprising everyone: he pulled off his cross necklace which happened to be a small dagger. "What do you think you're doing?" Zoro growled at him. "I am not a stupid person to use all of what I have to hunt a rabbit. I know that there are many people in this world who want to become famous. This place is East Blue, the weakest of all that are separated by the Grand Line and Red Line. Unfortunately, I don't carry a smaller knife than this one."

"Watch your words man. Otherwise, you'll regret it when you die!" Zoro shouted, angry, as he lunged towards Mihawk. "You are just another person who has never seen the real world." Zoro's technique was stopped with the little dagger, and it seemed as though the older man was putting in no effort at all.

"Zoro!" Luffy shouted as Kya's hand went up to her mouth. _'This is not good. It's going to be over soon and Zoro will be dead.'_ It felt weird, to actually worry about someone so much for the first time in a long time; it almost felt new to her.

"He can stop brother Zoro!

"Even the greatest technique!"

Then Mihawk whispered something to Zoro, something no one could hear. _'He's probably telling him.'_ She thought, a little afraid, as Zoro pulled back and began attacking. Mihawk simply stopped all attempts with the little dagger, even knocking the younger man to the ground. "Stop joking around brother!" Johnny shouted, laughing slightly. "Pull yourself together and get serious!"

"He uses that small knife to counter all of Roronoa Zoro's attacks!" Someone from Krieg's fleet cried out. _'This is not good….not good.' _Kya could feel the inside of her cheek bleeding, but kept chewing; it stopped her from yelling at the men. "I practice to win! I've practiced so hard to defeat this man!" Zoro cried out as he attacked more. "What is your duty? And what do you want from the ultimate power? You weakling."

"You called our brother weakling! Stupid!"

"We have to teach you a lesson!"

"Stop! Don't get involved Yosaku, Johnny!" Luffy grabbed the back of the bounty hunter's coats and shoved their faces against the railing of their boat. "We have to be patient." He continued, watching the scene intently. "Luffy…." Usopp trailed off, not noticing Zoro being thrown to the ground again.

'_I could have stopped him. I could have prevented this.' _Kya wrapped her arms around herself as Zoro got back up and attempted to slice Mihawk, only to have the small dagger be thrusted close to his heart. "Brother!" Yosaku and Johnny shouted, while the others twitched in anger.

'_Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Don't kill him.'_ She begged over and over in her mind as she watched the blood pour out of Zoro's chest. "Do you want this knife to go through our heart? Why aren't you stepping back?" Mihawk asked incredulously. "I-I don't know. However if I take a single step back….I'd feel that I had broken my promise and I will not be able to stand here again." Zoro answered as blood fell from his mouth. "Right. That's called losing." Mihawk's face was stoic as Zoro chuckled. "That's why I can't step back."

"Even if it means you will lose your life?"

"If I have to lose, I'd rather die!"

Kya cringed as the dagger was removed from her friend's chest. "Tell me your name kid." Mihawk demanded. "Roronoa Zoro." He held his swords out in front of him. "I'll remember that. I haven't met someone with such a strong will like you for a long time." Mihawk removed his large sword from his back. "And to repay that, I will use the Black Sword, the strongest sword in the world, to end your life."

"No…." She placed her hands over her mouth as people around her began to shout in fear. Mihawk lunged forward as Zoro began to spin his swords in a timely fashion. "Please stop brother!" Johnny cried out, almost as if he was in physical pain too.

Mihawk and Zoro met, the Black Sword cutting Zoro across the stomach and breaking the two katanas in his hands. In a surprising fashion, the younger man knelt and sheathed his non broken katana before turning around and facing Mihawk.

"What are you doing?" The twisted man asked, only making Zoro smile. "It's shameful for a swordsman to be hit from behind." He answered, causing a smirk to emerge from Mihawk's lips. "Splendid!" That's when the sword slashed diagonally across Zoro's chest, spraying blood everywhere.

"Zoro!" Luffy shouted as his first mate fell back into the sea with his katana. _'Shit. Shit. Shit. He's not dead, it wasn't deep enough. But still. He could die. Shit.'_ Kya's mind was racing out of control as she looked up at Mihawk. He caught her eyes with his and they stayed like that for a few moments until she frowned deeply. He didn't show any change of emotion besides boredom until Luffy stretched his arm out and slung himself over to the boat. "Luffy, no!" She cried out, but he didn't listen. "Usopp." She breathed to the long nosed boy but he shrugged, still shocked by the whole thing too. She watched as her captain shot him himself into the side of the boat, getting stuck for a few moments.

"Brother! Can you still here us?" She leaned over the boat to see Johnny and Yosaku carrying the bloody swordsman up to the boat. "Zoro!" Luffy cried out as the four pulled the injured man aboard. "I am Dracule Mihawk. It is too soon for you to die." Mihawk's words echoed around them as the four tried to apply medicine to Zoro's wound. "We have to get his shirt off." Kya said quickly, kneeling by the boy's head. "Kya's the only one who knows first aid, let her do it!" Usopp clumsily handed her the first aid box. She pulled out a jar of medicine as Mihawk spoke to Zoro more, but she ignored it; he needed more focus than those man's words.

"Brother say something!" Johnny cried, getting in the man's face but she smacked him away. "He needs room to breathe!" She yelled, pushing the boys away. "Kya? Is Zoro alright!" Luffy shouted and she turned to him. "He's not dead, just unconscious." She said back, before applying pressure the bleeding areas with a cloth. "Brother!" "Say something brother!"

That's when a bloody hand grabbed her wrist, making her stop, and the other hand held a katana upwards. "Zoro…" She whispered, slightly confused. "L-Luffy. C-Can you hear me?" He strained, tears brimming his eyes. "Yes!"

"I am sorry for making you worry about me. If I…can't become an invincible swordsman, you will be worried about me right?" He continued, tears falling from his eyes. "Don't' say anything now brother!" "Brother!" Johnny and Yosaku were both in tears while Kya just looked at her friend sadly. "From now on….I won't lose to anyone ever again! Until I can beat that man and become the greatest swordsman! I won't lose again! Forever!" He was sobbing now. "Do you have any problems, Pirate King?"

"Nope!" Luffy chuckled as Mihawk began to walk off. "You are a very good team. I hope that I will see you again." He said, and Kya turned back to Zoro. He was clutching her wrist tightly, tears still falling and his wound bleeding heavily. "Zoro, you have to let go off my arm." She said, trying to pry it off but it wouldn't budge.

What she wasn't expecting, was for him to throw her back away from him. "Don't touch me!" He shouted angrily at her. Usopp's jaw dropped to the ground. "B-But Zoro! She's the only one-" "I don't care! Don't let her touch me! I'll stitch myself up!" He grabbed the first aid box off the ground as she stood to her feet and brushed herself off. "Whatever makes you happy."

* * *

They had been sailing for a few hours now; Zoro was fast asleep in the bedroom while Usopp, Yosaku, and Johnny were passed out on the stern. Kya sat up against the wall next to the door of the cabin, staring at the sky.

He knew; he knew and he was angry with her. That's why he refused to let her stitch him up. She sighed and closed her eyes. It should have been expected. It's not every day you learn that your crewmate is the niece of the man you want to kill, is it? But it shouldn't matter. She hated that man anyways.

'_I should probably make sure he isn't dead.' _She thought as she tiredly got to her feet, leaning on the wall for support. She needed sleep, but that was impossible for now. She needed to watch over them.

As she walked into the cabin, the sound of snoring didn't hit her ears, which was slightly odd. She lit a small candle on shelf before walking over to the injured man. "I'm sorry." His voice startled her a little; she wasn't expecting him to be awake. "What are you talking about?" She played dumb, placing a hand on his forehead. "You have a fever. Go back to sleep."

"You were right, except I didn't die. I almost did though." He chuckled lightly and she shook her head, sitting on a chair on the other side of the room. "You're an idiot." She said simply, making him laugh a little more. "I'll be okay though. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell us?" He said, still staring at the ceiling.

"He doesn't matter to me." She said simply, crossing her legs. He turned to look at her, wincing slightly. "But he's your uncle?" He questioned. "He's my mother's brother, that's it. Nothing more."

"You don't like him?"

"I hate him."

"Why?"

"I asked him to help and he never did."

He looked at her strangely. "Help with what?" She chuckled. "Do you expect me to tell you my life story?" She cocked her head to the side making him frown. "No. I was just asking." He muttered. "This is only the third time I've seen him my entire life, honestly. I don't particularly care about him, even though he is the only family I have left. I hope one day though, you kill him." She said truthfully, leaning back. "Sorry, again. For being angry with you earlier." He cleared his throat awkwardly. She gave a small chuckle as she closed her eyes. "It's understandable. You should get some sleep though, you're fever will go down." Although, she didn't even need to say anything as he was already fast asleep. "Bakas." She muttered, finally falling asleep herself.


	15. A Nice Family

**Chapter 15**

"**I just don't want to fall asleep to another nitemare."-Project Wakeup, I See Stars**

* * *

"_Mah, Ryuko. I'm bored." A nine year old Kya sat on a large rock near the dock. She dangled a tree branch down to her tiger cub, Yama, who chased it playfully. "Well, go play with your friends. Jeesh, you're annoying." Her older brother muttered, packing away his fishing gear. "They're all busy. That's why I'm with you." She whined as the cub pulled the branch from her hand. "Well, go play with your dumb cat. I don't care." He said tiredly, giving her a small glare with his hawk-like eyes before walking away. "Jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him before jumping off._

"_Yama, let's go explore." She grabbed the young tiger and coddled him in her arms. "Meow." He looked up at her with his one eye, nuzzling into her collar bone. She skipped her way into the jungle, where she was never allowed to go before. "Mama never lets us go here, so we have to keep it a secret." _

_Eventually, mucking her way through the dense forest floor, they came to a small meadow. Yama immediately jumped from her arms, rolling around in the lush grass. "What's this place?" She whispered to herself, standing in the sun's rays. "The sun can even reach the ground here…." She twirled around, her waist-length pink hair flailing around her. 'It's so pretty, right Yama?" The tiger growled playfully before pouncing on a flower. _

_They played together for a few hours, before Kya finally sighed. "We should go home. Mama and Papa are probably worried. They'll get mad at Ryuko if we don't get back soon." She bent over to pick up the one eyed jungle cat but a loud explosion shook the ground, causing her to fall over. _

_Quickly she brushed herself off, getting to her feet. "Yama, let's go." She said hastily, taking off through the forest. Her foot caught on a root, causing her to trip and tumble forward. "Ow." She muttered, grabbing her bleeding arm. Yama ran up to her, mewing worriedly as he rubbed against her wounded arm. "I'm okay." She patted his head lightly before she started her journey again. _

_Another loud explosion shook the ground and the smell of smoke hit her nostrils, causing her to run faster. "Ryuko!" She cried loudly, hoping the older boy could hear her, but no one answered. As she stumbled her way out of the forest, she came to the dock where a World Government ship was had been placed. _

"_Little girl? What are you doing?" _

_She looked up to see a tall man with white hair and red eyes wearing a black trench coat staring down at her. "Wh-What's happening?" She mumbled as Yama curled himself around her ankle. He smiled down at her creepily, holding his hand out. "Why don't you come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe." He said emotionlessly. She reached her bloodied arm out to grasp it, but froze when she looked behind him. _

_Fire. Fire everywhere. Every single house in her small village was caught on fire. Her body shook in terror as she sprinted forward to her home. "Mama! Papa! Ryuko!" She cried, tears running down her face as she came to the outside of her house. "Answer me!" She yelled as a hand was placed on her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up to see the man from before, smiling down at her once again. _

"_My name is Niro. I'll be taking care of you from now on."_

"Stop!" Kya shot up, placing a hand on her sweating forehead. She looked around her, seeing she had been placed in the bed Zoro was on when she last saw him. _'Another nitemare.'_ She thought bitterly, throwing the sheets off of her.

"What was that? Is there someone else on the boat with you?" A gruff, new voice called out from the front of the boat. _'Are we under attack?'_ She was quick to grab her belt and dagger, which had somehow been taken off her when she was asleep. "No. No one's here." Zoro spoke out, sounding a little irritated. That's when the door flew open and a short fishman with a massive under bite strode in. "Look what we have here, a little beauty." He snorted as she froze. Fishman? Why was there a fishman here? They couldn't be at-?

"C'mere." He marched forward, a sick smile on his face. "Kya! Run!" Zoro shouted, but she couldn't find a way out. She was stuck between the fishman and the wall. _'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.' _She cursed, backing up. "No running away, missy." The fishman chuckled, lunging for her. She didn't have enough time to react, and his webbed hand was fastened around her throat. She coughed; struggling for air as he choked her. "We got ourselves a pretty one." He carried her out on to the deck where Zoro and another fishman with big lips was.

"Ho ho, we sure do." Big Lips chuckled as Kya was thrown to the ground. "Kya!" Zoro shouted as she tumbled next to him, gasping for air. "I'm fine." She coughed, sitting upright slowly. He struggled in his ropes but his efforts were fruitless. Underbite picked her up by the arm and tied the rope securely around her before removing her weapons.

"What the hell happened?" She squirmed under the hold of Underbite as he placed her against the side. "Ah, well. Yosaku went back to tell Sanji and Luffy we figured the Merry was at Arlong Park." Zoro told her simply. "Well, where are the other two!?" She nearly shouted, and the fishman scolded her for being loud with a slap to the face. "They jumped overboard and left me tied to the door." He answered casually, making her sigh.

The fishmen took the boat and sailed it towards a large brick wall with an opening for two smaller gates. "Open the gates! We've brought intruders!" Big Lips shouted and his command was heard; the large gates suddenly opened, revealing a large pool and an even larger house with the words 'Arlong Park' on it surrounded by other fishmen. "I can tell this is going to be exciting." Zoro murmured, twitching slightly. "We're dead." She said aloud, shaking her head. "We're all dead."

The ship was pulled to the front and Underbite grabbed her, throwing her overboard onto the cement ground. She grimaced, but managed to sit up, seeing a large sawshark fishman sitting in a chair and gleaming down at her. Zoro was slung to her left side, growling out in pain as he landed on his side. _'Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.'_ She cursed to herself as the large fishman, presumably Arlong, began to laugh. "Well how about that. We've got a beauty and a beast." He chuckled, making the small girl frown deeply at him. "You don't look like you could hurt a fly."

"Look, we didn't come here to play stupid games with you." She said suddenly, making all of the fishmen around raise an eyebrow. "She can talk." Arlong laughed again, crossing his tattooed arms over his exposed chest. "Oi, oi. Look, we just came here looking for one woman." Zoro butted in, sitting up in pain. Every fishman around began to laugh in their deep voice, mocking the two pirates. _'This isn't going well.'_ She shot a look at Zoro, who was twitching in anger. "You've got one right next to you." Arlong said stupidly, pointing at Kya.

"That's not who I was talking about! Bastard fish freaks." Zoro growled lowly at the other species. "Ho! An inferior human dares to speak to me as such! I will let this slide once, but if you do it again I'll kill you. We fishmen are humans who have gained he 'special ability' to breathe underwater. And this skill makes us better and more evolved than 'normal' humans!" Arlong boasted in a racist fashion. "Our greater strength is proof of that! Remember this: fishmen are both god and creator! When humans dare go against fishmen, he dares to go against god!" At this point, Nami had walked out from the building behind him, an angry look on her face.

'_That bitch.'_ Kya stared at her bitterly as the orange haired traitor spoke. "I'm getting sick of hearing that speech, Arlong." She said bitterly, and Zoro gasped. _'That tattoo…..she's been with Arlong this whole time?!' _Kya's teeth ground together angrily. "Don't get upset! Of course, you're an exception, Nami. Because you are the skilled navigator of the crew! You'd better chart good maps for us!" Arlong said passively. "My ability is better than all of yours. Don't worry." Nami answered coldly.

"Navigator? Hey Nami. Why are you so friendly with these guys?!" Zoro asked suddenly, oblivious to everything. "What? Do you know of each other?" Arlong asked suspiciously as the navigator inched closer to Zoro and Kya. "Don't be silly. They're just some of my victims." She leaned in front of Zoro but turned her head to Kya. "I knew you've been following me. But I never thought that you could actually get here." She smirked. "So this is the real you?" Kya asked through a clenched jaw. She was going to kill her. And then somehow bring her back to life and kill her again. _'She pissed me off too much.'_

"Yes. Surprised? I am one of Arlong's crew. I was a pirate from the start." Nami chuckled darkly, making Arlong laugh yet again. "Some of your victims?! Let me tell you something! This woman will do anything for money: even forget the death of her own mother! She is a cold blooded witch!" His words made Nami freeze, her eyes shaking in anger. _'Aha, you're not very good at hiding your emotions idiot.' _Kya chewed the inside of her lip from speaking. It didn't matter anyways; Nami was a bitch no matter how you looked at it.

"She has deceived others and stole their treasures! With us as her backup!" Arlong continued to laugh as Zoro spoke up. "Oh? Is that so? Actually, I never trusted her from the start. Even though she is a cutthroat, I wouldn't feel anything for her." He said smugly, making Kya snicker. "We knew it all along, you never were the good person you claimed to be." She threw in, and Nami sighed in relief. "That's good. So you know you've been tricked. Then, there is nothing left between us now. You two should better get out of my sight; you're starting irritate me."

Suddenly, Zoro pushed himself off into the water, surprising everyone. "Zoro!" Kya shouted, a little ticked by his childish antics. The fishmen around them began questioning the scene until Arlong silenced them. "Leave him." He said gruffly, but that's when Nami slipped her sandals off and dove into the water; apparently she couldn't let anyone die on her watch.

'_That idiot, what if she was cold blooded you would be dead.' _Kya tsked out loud, shaking her head. She had been surrounded by idiots; that's what happened to her. "Ah she's coming up." One of the fishmen noted idly as the water began splashing. Nami and Zoro came through the surface, leaning onto the concrete panting. "Hey, what's going on Nami?"

"What are you trying to do?" Nami whispered to Zoro, panting heavily. "No…what are you trying to do?" He coughed before speaking again. "So you don't have the guts? You can't even let one human die in front of you." He pointed out. "You'd better work on being quicker next time idiot. I almost drowned."

That did Nami in. She stood to her feet and slammed her heel into Zoro's back. "Stop mocking me!" She cried out angrily. _'Baka. He overdid it.'_ Kya watched with a stern look as Nami picked him up by the throat. "Get involved with me next time, and you die!" She threatened. "Oh really?" He snorted in her face. "…..You have a lot of bandages on you." She trailed off darkly. "I just can't find my shirt. That's all."

She released his neck, digging her fist into his fresh wound. _'Shit. That must have hurt.'_ Kya winced as he fell to the ground, gasping in pain. She'd have to fix that up later. "Hey, what are we gonna do with them Nami?" One of the fishmen asked, making said girl shrug. "Just leave em there. I'll take care of that later."

"Arlong-san! Arlong-san!" Underbite came running into the area. _'Where the hell has he been?'_ Kya thought, twisting in the ropes unbearably. "What is it?" Arlong answered boredly. "We let the guy with the long nose get away from us!"

'_Usopp?!'_ Kya gasped inwardly. If they caught him, they were doomed-she hated to say this-he was their last hope at the moment. "Maybe he has escaped to Cocoyashi Village. It so happens that I have matters that I need to take care of there too." Arlong stood and clapped his hands together. "Take those two to the jail cells." He demanded, and two fishmen ran over to the pirates, hoisting them to their feet.

"Oi, let me go." Kya attempted to pull away from the creature, but he clutched her arm so tightly it hurt. "Listen here girly; you don't stand a chance against us merman. Give it up." He opened one of the cells and threw her to ground against the wall. "Bastard." She spat as Zoro was thrown in after her. The fishman merely chuckled as he locked the door and left.

"Well, this is a predicament." Zoro noted idly, sitting up. "Says the man who nearly drowned." She scoffed, looking away. "She wouldn't let me drown, I knew that." He chuckled lightly. "Whatever. You're an idiot." She struggled in the ropes again, but gave up. They were too damn tight.

"Do you think Nami will come back?" He asked suddenly, staring at the wall. "Don't know, don't care." She shrugged, leaning her head back. "That's a bit apathetic." He snickered at her. "Meh, we didn't get along. It's up to Luffy really." She closed her eyes and sighed. _'And he's going to want her back, unfortunately.'_

A jiggling at the cell door caught her attention, and her focus zeroed in on Nami who was….unlocking the door? "What are you doing?" Kya shot coldly, but was ignored. Nami walked in, a knife in hand and their weapons in her other. She cut off Zoro's ropes before setting his katana down beside him. Kya tensed as Nami neared her, throwing her dagger and utility belt to the ground before removing the other ropes. "Wha-" Zoro went to ask but she cut him off. "Get out of here! Before Arlong gets back!" She said simply before disappearing down the hallway.

"Well." He murmured, standing up and putting his katana in his waistband. "Whatever." Kya said simply, putting her belt on so it hung loosely over her left hip and put her dagger on her right thigh as normal. "Hopefully all the fishmen are gone." He changed the subject as he followed her out of the cell. "Ah well….." She walked out back to the courtyard. "Doesn't seem like it." She sighed as nearly twenty fishmen laid eyes on them. "Ready for a fight?" He chuckled behind her as he unsheathed his katana. "Have no other choice." She mumbled as the fishmen began to charge. "Soru."

She moved in between a group of five before doing a hand stand. "Rankyaku." She kicked her legs, causing her to spin around as the air compressed and sent the five enemies flying backwards; unconscious. "Well…that wasn't so hard." She turned as about five more of them came at her. The one closest to her threw his dagger, and she dogged it just in time but not before it ripped the left leg of her pants. "Dammit." She frowned, placing a hand on her hip. "Now I have to change."

"Kami-e." She floated past the barrage of arms coming at her elegantly before punching one in clear in the jaw. "Shigan." Two more went down, bullet-like holes all over there body. She removed her dagger, stabbing the last two quickly. She looked at Zoro, who was holding off his last opponent. Then she looked at the building to see a small room covered in maps. _'Nami's room. Maybe she'll have some clothes in there.'_

It didn't take long to find the small room, but the feeling she got when she walked in made her frown. It felt kind of….empty. She sighed and shrugged it off, digging through a draw. "Perfect." She smiled, pulling out some clothes.

These clothes must have been Nami's from some years ago, because they were a little small on Kya. The jean shorts barely covered her butt and the black shirt hung loosely off her left shoulder but stopped just below her breasts. "Meh, this will do for now." She positioned her dagger and holder over the hated scar on her leg and tightened her belt securely around her waist.

"She told use to escape…but our goal is here." Zoro's voice hit her ears as she walked outside. "I promised Luffy that I would bring her back. What the hell…this is so complicated." He murmured to himself making her chuckle. "Talking to yourself won't make anything better." She told him leaning against the post next to Arlong's chair, where he currently resided. "Shut up." He scoffed simply, closing his eyes.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, something that sounded similar to a trumpet resonated through the air. "What's that?" He asked but she only shrugged. "Someone making bad music?" She suggested, walking over to the wall where the bad music came from. "Help me up." She pushed him down to his knees. "What are you doing?" He grumbled. "Lift me up with your hands idiot." He held his hands out and jumped in them lightly. "Jeesh. My weights way more than you do." She leaned over on top of the wall to see an octopus fishman looking out at sea with a dead pig on a stick. Zoro climbed up after, grumbling to himself, but she ignored it.

"Are you the one that blew the trumpet?" She asked the fishman, who jumped and turned to her surprised. "Who are you?! Me?! I am Hatchan. You can Hachi." The fishman said smiling. "You're a fishman too?" Zoro asked boredly, ignoring the octopus's weird antics. "As you can see, I am a merman octopus. You two are human right? Are you guys Marines or guests?" Hachi asked, waving his tentacles weirdly. "Guest?" Zoro repeated, and the two pirates looked at each other for a second.

"Ah, yes. We're guests." Kya smiled down at the fishman. "But Arlong-san's not here…" Hachi trailed off. "No, he's not. Do you know where he is?" She asked lightly. "I heard that there is one stranger with a long nose who went to the village. We've already captured two guys. And Arlong-san is trying to find another one in Cocoyashi Village." He said, holding up four fingers. '_Usopp and Johnny…..'_ Her mouth formed into a thin line. '_We need to hurry.'_

"How do you get to that village?" Zoro asked suddenly. "Jump in. You're both guests, so I'll take you there." Hachi pointed at a large vase-like object floating in the sea. "Ah, well okay…." She jumped off the ledge, hesitantly making her way into the vase. "We'll be there in a few minutes." Hachi said before jumping into the ocean. The object moved unevenly, and she had to steady herself as he strapped it to his back. _'He's gonna carry us there?'_ She sucked in the queasy feeling in her stomach as she sat on the rim. "You're really gonna take us there?" Zoro asked as he made his way into the pot. "Of course." Hachi said simply, before unexpectedly taking off. _'Shit.' _She gripped the pot tightly, closing her eyes as the salt water splashed into her face. He was a really fast swimmer.

The ride there was silent, aside from the splashing of the water, and the three pulled up to a small dock in front of a village. Hachi unstrapped the pot from his back, setting it in the water. Kya and Zoro jumped out, and he turned to face the fishman. _'There's no one here….'_ She thought, surveying the area. "This is Cocoyashi Village. I think Arlong-san is there." Hachi said quickly. "Thanks." Zoro began, but was cut off when the octopus took off. "You're welcome! Please come again! I'm gonna go."

"What a weird fishman." He muttered before facing towards the village. "That saw-nose came to this village." He told her and she nodded. "Ah, but forget that. Let's find Usopp first." She said before walking forward through the village. No one seemed to be out, and the town felt dead. "This is weird…." He muttered and she turned to look at him. _'When did he get that shirt…?'_ She noticed the open buttoned shirt he had on, but shrugged it off. "Seems no one is here." Just as she spoke, an older man walked out of a house humming to himself.

"Hey! Old man!" Zoro shouted, running over to him. The man froze, his body shaking slightly as the two pirates jogged up to him. "Have you seen a man with long dark hair and a really long nose?" She asked quickly. He nodded, swallowing a bit. "Yah. But the Arlong Pirates got him and took him back to Arlong Park." He answered lightly. "What?! Usopp was taken to Arlong Park?!" Zoro nearly shouted. "Yes, just a while ago."

"Damn it, we missed him." He grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the direction they came from. "We have to go back." He said, and she nodded. "Ah. Luffy should be here soon." She said and they took off running.

"Should you be running with your wound?" She asked suddenly, completely forgetting about his near death experience. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He waved her off. "I'm not worried. Luffy would just be mad at me if I let you die." She huffed at him. "Whatever." He chuckled lightly before looking at the sky. "Do you hear that?" He asked suddenly. She focused her hearing; there were people yelling and screaming. "Ah, I don't know what it is though."

The sound was getting louder and louder. "Was there an explosion?" She asked and he shrugged. "Nevermind that. If we don't hurry, Usopp will die." He reminded her but that's when they saw it: a ship, flying straight towards them, with Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku. "Hey Zoro! Kya!" Luffy laughed at them. "Brother! Sister!" Yosaku cried out, feared for his life. Kya didn't have enough time to dodge it, and the boat hit the ground by her sending her into Zoro under all the debris.

"God dammit…" She muttered, clutching her head as she removed herself from on top of Zoro. "Beautiful lady~! These mean did not hurt you did they?" Sanji twirled his way over to her. "I'm fine." She breathed, avoiding his grasp. "What the hell are you playing?!" Zoro shouted at Luffy, who was standing perfectly normal while Yosaku was buried head first in debris. "We're not playing. We came to take Nami back with us. Did you find her? Where is Usopp and Johnny?" He asked in one breath.

"Speaking of Usopp, we have to hurry now!" Kya said, turning towards Arlong Park. "Eh?! What happened?" Luffy asked from his spot. "Arlong has him captured. If we don't hurry, he'll be killed." Zoro explained to him.

"He was already killed!"

Everyone turned and saw Johnny standing in the middle of the debris, an angry look on his face. "You are too late." He said darkly. "Johnny?" Zoro called out but Johnny stopped and clenched his fists. "Brother Usopp was killed by sister Nami!" He cried, tears streaming down his face. _'That bitch.'_ Kya frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

That's when Luffy growled and charged at Johnny, grabbing the bounty hunter by his collar. "Say that again!" He dared angrily, and she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the boy, attempting to hold him back. "Luffy, calm down." She said lightly. "If you don't tell me the truth I will beat you up!"

Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop it Luffy! It's not Johnny's fault." He tried to say lightly, but everyone could tell he was a little angry. "Then why did he say such a stupid thing!? Nami would never kill Usopp! We're friends!" Luffy yelled, pulling Johnny closer to him. "I don't care if you don't believe me but I saw it with my own eyes!" He retorted.

"Nami?" Zoro's voice made Kya release her grip on the captain, looking onward to see the orange haired girl standing there smugly. "Who's your friend Luffy?" She asked darkly as he released his grip on Johnny. "What are you doing here?" She added, clutching a pole tightly in her right hand while her left was covered in a leathery clove.

"Why are you asking? You are my friend, I came to take you with us." Luffy placed his hand on top of his hat. "You give me such a headache." She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Friends? Don't make me laugh. All you need is someone who can give you a hand. Am I right?" Kya clenched her fists together; that girl was just itching for a punch to her face. "Ah! Nami-san! Do you remember me?! Let's go travel together!" Sanji suddenly spoke up to her right, pissing Zoro off. "Get lost! Why do you have to make this more complicated?" The swordsman shouted, standing in front of her. "What? Don't you realize my love is stronger than a mountain?" Sanji answered, his cigarette hanging from his lips. She growled at both of them, placing her hands on their foreheads before pushing them away from each other.

"I told you that this is an evil hearted woman! In order to get all the treasure underneath her hometown, she joined Arlong and is willing to kill anyone!" Johnny cried out to them. "She is a cold blooded witch! All of you have been tricked by her! I saw her kill brother Usopp with my own eyes!" His words made Nami chuckled. "So what? You want to seek revenge and kill me?" She asked, smiling. "What did you say?!"

"Let me tell you something. Arlong really wants to kill Roronoa Zoro, Kya and their friends because those two have upset him! Even though you are as strong as the devil, you can't compare yourself to the strength of real devils!"

"Nevermind that, where's Usopp?" Zoro pushed. "Why don't you look for him at the bottom of the sea?" She shot back haughtily. "Watch your mouth!" He unsheathed his katana and headed straight for her. _'This is not good…..'_ Kya chewed her finger as Sanji nearly kicked Zoro in the head. "You too idiot!" They both stood inches away from each other, angry looks smoldering their faces. "What kind of swordsman would hurt a lady?" The cook puffed on his cigarette. "What?! You better get out of my way."

"Heh. Ever since you lost in that shameful battle, you've become a high tempered person." Sanji smirked; simply adding salt to an already burning wound. "Watch your mouth! Otherwise you'll lose your head!" Zoro pressed his katana up to the other man's neck. "Can you do that in your condition?" Kya sighed, hanging her head. If they kept on going, she'd kill them both. "You shouldn't fight each other in situations like this!" Yosaku finally cried.

"Yes, if you want to fight just get off this island! I don't want outsiders to waste their live here. Don't you understand? The reason I befriended you was for money. And now you don't have anything, so I don't have to care about you anymore! I will return your ship to you. Just get out of here and find a new navigator or One Piece or whatever you want to do!" Nami looked a little heartbroken as she spoke, but tried to hide it. "Good bye!"

"Nami…." Luffy trailed off before falling flat on his back. _'What is he up to now?'_ Kya thought boredly, not taking her eyes off Nami. "Brother Luffy!" Johnny yelled in fear. "I am going to sleep here." Luffy said finally, making the assassin chuckle. "Sleep?! At a time like this!?" Johnny and Yosaku cried together. "And you're going to sleep in the middle of the street like this?!" Sanji threw in.

"I've never thought of leaving this island. And I don't care about what happens here. Besides I feel a little sleepy, I will sleep now." Luffy was already dozing off as Zoro hit his forehead, and the other three males' jaws dropped. "Stop playing around! You'll get killed!" Nami cried out before turning and stomping off.

"Well….how about that." Kya snorted before sitting on the ground a few feet from Luffy. "Meh, whatever." Zoro sighed as he slowly placed himself on the ground, his katana in his lap. Sanji didn't say anything, only puffed some smoke as he walked over to a tree and sat, leaning against it. "All of you are very strange! What that witch said is right! Brother Usopp has already died!" Johnny said, standing next to Zoro. "Besides, Arlong is looking for you. There is no reason to stay on this island, and I believe in Johnny's word." Yosaku said, a stern look on his face. "It's been very nice knowing you, even though it was short time. We're gonna get going because we don't want to get killed by Arlong." Johnny said before they began walking away.

"I hope to see you again! Goodbye!"

"You're already strong! Take care!"

"You too." Zoro said gruffly as the two disappeared from sight. "What a pain." Kya sighed as she crossed her legs and leaned back on her hands. "We could have made it to Lougetown by now…" She added, looking up at the sky. "Awh~ Kya-chwan you're so cute." Sanji cooed from his spot by the tree. "Tsk, don't call me that." She gritted. "Yes ma'am!~" He swayed back and forth from his spot, hearts in his eyes. "Pervert cook." Zoro muttered, but not low enough so that Sanji couldn't hear. "Shuttup you stupid green head."

It was quite for a moment, until Sanji spoke up again. "Hey." He directed at Zoro, who responded with a bored 'huh'. "Nami-san has killed that long nosed man?" He asked and Zoro nodded, smirking a bit. "Maybe. Even though she is small, I was once beaten up by her. Maybe she has killed Usopp." He snickered to himself, but apparently his comment sent Sanji over the edge. "Small?"

"Oh god, here we go again…" Kya muttered, falling on her back with her knees up. She watched as Sanji got up and moved towards Zoro, who simply sat and watched the cook with a keen eye. "Nami-san's breasts are not small!" Sanji cried out, sending a kick towards Zoro who stopped it with his katana. "Are you only thinking of such dirty things?!"

A cry of pain stopped the two boys from fighting, and an injured Usopp fell to the ground, his face smashed in badly. "Usopp!" She cried, rushing to her feet and over to the three boys. "Usopp?" Luffy sat up, looking at them. It took him a few minutes to register what happened and he quickly crawled over to the sharpshooter, holding him in his arms. "Usopp? Did Nami do this to you!?"

"No! It's our fault!" Sanji pointed at Zoro next to him, who scoffed. "Only your fault!" Kya shot them both a stern glare; Sanji swooned while Zoro looked the other way. "Luffy? You're here too?" Usopp asked, regaining his composure. "Yep!" Sanji waved slightly. "I also came. Hi!"

"I will kill you one day!" Usopp cursed before shaking his head. "The problem is Nami! She's the one who saved me. I think there must be a reason she joined those fishmen!" He placed his fist in his hand. "It's hopeless! There is nothing you can do to change Arlong's system." The five of them turned to see a pretty, older woman with blue hair that with a thin bandana around her head and tattoos down her right arm and across her chest. "Nojiko…." Usopp trailed off lightly.

"Who's that?" Luffy pointed at the woman. "Nami's elder sister." Usopp explained to him. "Elder sister…?" Kya tilter her head; thy looked nothing alike. "Nami-san's sister! No wonder she is so beautiful!~" Sanji cried, hearts in his eyes. "What do you mean by that?" Zoro was straight to the point. "Please! Don't get involved with our business. I will tell you everything if you leave this island." She propositioned with the pirates.

"Meh. Whatever." Zoro grumbled, walking over to a tree and sitting against it. "You should be nicer to Nami-san's sister." Sanji scolded as he sat down in the grass. _'I guess we don't have a choice.'_ Kya laid down on the grass next to Sanji, staring at the white clouds floating by. "I don't want to listen to that because I don't care about her past. I'm going to take a walk." Luffy said simply, walking off. "Take a walk?! You don't want to know about her past?!" Usopp shouted after him, but the boy shrugged. "No, I don't."

"He-" Zoro cut Nojiko off. "Don't worry about him. That's the way he is. Tell us. We'll listen." But after he spoke his last words, he fell asleep. "Then why are you sleeping?" She asked. "You told her that you'd listen, but you fell asleep before she began!" Usopp shouted. "Baka." Kya muttered, closing her eyes. She didn't care much for Nami's past, but maybe it would help her get along with the navigator better. "I'll listen to you." Usopp told her loyally. "Me too." Sanji said, but he probably just wanted to get in her pants. "Go ahead." Kya said simply, giving the older woman a curt nod.

Nojiko told their story; Nami and herself were adopted by an ex-Marine named Bell-mere. Bell-mere raised until about eight years ago Arlong and his pirate crew invaded the village. They were looking for money, but there wasn't enough so Bell-mere sacrificed her life for her two daughters. Arlong took Nami for ability to write maps and since then she has been in his crew; striving for money to buy her village back.

'_Ah, looks like the thief and I have more in common than I thought.'_ Kya sat up, a frown on her face. _'The worlds is an awful place.'_ "Since eight years ago, that girl has never cried again and she's never asked anyone for help because she doesn't want to die like our mother." Nojiko explained sadly. "She was ten years old, and Nami decided to fight alone in that situation?" Usopp asked quietly. "Have you ever realized how much pain she has been through?" She asked. "Because it was the only way to save her village, she decided to join the people who killed her mother." He answered, pressing his thumb to his nose.

"Any person who hurts Nami-sans feelings, I won't let them live peacefully!" Sanji suddenly shouted, getting to his feet, only to be hit on the head by Nojiko. "Why did you do that to me miss?!" Sanji cried, holding his hurt head. "I came here to tell you not to do anything stupid. If you get involved with her, you will make those fishmen suspicious of Nami and her plan for the past 8 years will be ruined! So I want you to not create any more trouble and stop hurting her feelings."

"Ah, don't worry. We won't do anything." Kya cracked her back as she stood. Nojiko looked at her for a moment, but nodded. "I'll be heading back to the village now. You should find your friend and get out of here." She said before taking off towards her home. "What do you mean we won't do anything?!" Usopp nearly shouted as Nojiko was out of view. Kya grabbed his nose, sighing lightly. "I was lying idiot. Of course we'll destroy that sick son of a bitch and his crew." She said sternly, releasing him.

"Mah, I've never seen you this worked up before." Everyone turned to look at Zoro as yawned and stretched. "I don't like people like Arlong." She said simply, turning towards the village. "Let's go." She began walking in the direction Nojiko left, Sanji skipping up to her. "Oh~! Kya-chwan's so cute when she's determined!" He cooed, shaking his hips. She clenched her fists, but refused to hit him. "I told you to stop calling me that." She muttered, twitching in annoyance. "I can't help it. You're just so cute!~" He cried out happily. She sighed, holding her tongue. _'He'll give it up, one of these days.'_

The walk towards the village was mainly silent, aside from a few arguments between Zoro and Sanji. "Luffy!" She called out, running up to the captain who was sitting on a bench near a group of townspeople. "What's going on?" She asked him as the other three ran up behind her. "Ah, they're going to fight Arlong for Nami." Luffy said simply as Zoro sat on the bench next to him. "Those people are?" He asked skeptically and Luffy nodded. "Yah."

"There is no one way they will let our village go! We don't have any hope left! After all, they just want to play with Nami's feelings! We can't forgive those fishmen!" A man with a pinwheel on his hat and scars covering his bodies shouted in the middle of the group. "Anyone want to object?!"

"No one! Let's fight them!"

"We can't be under their control anymore!"

"We've prepared to fight them for a long time!"

"Fight!"

"Wait!" Nami was standing a few feet away from them, panting heavily. "Everyone please be patient! I will try to collect money again, okay?! It won't be hard this time!" She held her arms out, a small smile on her face. The man with the tattoos walked up to her, pulling her into his arms. "That's enough! You knew that nothing was working. It must hurt to join them! But it's been a very good fight for you, the girl who always fights alone for us. You've fought good." He pulled away from her. "That's enough. Get off this island." He said, making everyone gasp. "Wait-" Nami was cut off by her sister, who was covered in bandages now. "You are…a very smart person, and you also have a dream to accomplish right?"

"Everyone don't go! I don't want to see anyone get hurt by them!" She pulled out a small knife. "If you go, you will get killed!" She shouted, and the scarred man grabbed the knife with his bare hand. "We know." He said deeply. "Nothing will help. We've decided!" Another man butted in. "Get out of our way Nami!" The villagers rushed pashed her as she fell to her knees, clutching her tattooed arm. That's when she grabbed the knife and dug it deep into her shoulder, crying and screaming Arlong's name over and over until Luffy walked up behind her and grabbed her wrist.

"Luffy?!"

'_It's hard to realize we are similar in many ways.' _Kya thought, chewing the inside of her lip. She'd have to apologize later for all the fighting. "What is it now?! You don't know anything!" Nami shouted as she dropped the knife. "No, I don't know anything." He answered her truthfully. "It's none of your business!" She threw dirt at his legs. "I told you to get off this island!" She sobbed loudly. "Yes you've already told me." He said as she began crying into her hand.

"Luffy….help me…"

With those three words, he removed his hat and placed it on her head roughly before turning around and taking a deep breath. "Surely I will help you!" He shouted heroically, making Kya snort. It wasn't much of a battle cry, but it will do. He walked up next to his crew, an angry look on his face. "Let's go."

"Yeah!"

* * *

**I have really bad writer's block...**


	16. Fall of an Empire

**Chapter 16**

"**Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."-Martin Luther King Jr.**

* * *

Kya watched silently as Luffy kicked in the wooden doors to Arlong's courtyard. After seeing Nami cry, though she hadn't cried in 8 years, Luffy and the crew stormed off to fight the fishman. Johnny and Yosaku, who ad fought the fishmen earlier, were holding of the townspeople for their safety; they actually had brains.

"Which one is Arlong?" Luffy cracked his knuckles as the saw nosed fishman stared at him with interest. "Who is that man?" He asked out loud, only answered by the sound of Zoro unsheathing his katana. "Who is Arlong?" Luffy repeated, walking over the debris. "That's me. What do you want?" The air was tense, only a few fishmen stood at Arlong's side. "I'm Luffy."

"Oh! You're Luffy. Who are you anyways?"

"A pirate."

He was getting closer to Arlong when two fishmen stepped in front of him. "Hey wait a minute!" They laughed lightly at him. "Where do you think you're going? You have to deal with us before talking to him! Hey!" Luffy reached his arms up to their heads. "You're not stopping, eh?" He slammed them together, their skulls making a sickening crack that echoed. "Get out of my way."

"I don't think I've seen him this angry…" Kya murmured, following the captain's footsteps inside. "Ah. I didn't even think he cared about Nami as much it looks now." Zoro answered, following behind her with Sanji. "Don't talk bad about Nami-san." The cook breathed, but his words were ignored by the swordsman.

"What does a pirate need from me?" Along asked, only to be punched square in the jaw by Luffy, sending him flying into the wall. "Ah! Arlong-san!" His crew shouted, though they didn't do anything about it. Kya stopped walking; it wasn't their time to get involved yet.

"You!" Arlong growled as he removed the stone off him. "Don't you dare make my navigator cry." Luffy growled, his hands twitching in anger. "You!" Arlong's Crew lunged at him. "You've crossed over the line!"

"Weaklings are not allowed to interrupt!"

Sanji quickly defeated the fishmen with his strong leg before landing next to Luffy. _'A cook that can fight.'_ Kya mused as she walked up behind her captain. The four boys began talking but she tuned them out; there were better things to worry about.

"Roronoa Zoro." A fishman suddenly called out, gaining their attention. "That's him right?! I can remember! And the girl too! Why did you trick me?!" The octopus man, Hachi, cried. She smirked lightly; apparently they weren't that intellectual. "How come that long nosed man is alive?! He should be dead!"

"Pirates? I see. So that's how you're all related. So you really want Nami in the first place." Arlong laughed maniacally. "But you're just pieces of crap! What can you do?"

"You're not even worth fighting Arlong-san! I will make all of you become my pet's meal! Show yourself my powerful fighter!" Hachi's declared, before grabbing ahold of his mouth which created a trumpet like sound. _'So it was him earlier…'_ Kya mused as something large began to rise from the water. "What is that?!" Usopp was near tears at the point; grabbing his head and his jaw was slack.

"Show yourself Mohmoo!"

At that, a large sea king rose from the water. It had the head of a bull and seemed awfully fierce aside from the fact it was in tears. "Here comes the monster!" Usopp screeched and she placed a hand on the shaking boy's shoulder. The cow sea king's eyes widened as he looked down at the humans; mainly on Luffy and Sanji.

"What? It's you?" Luffy didn't seem too fazed and neither did Sanji. "You're a merman?" The beast mooed sadly before turning and slinking down in the water. "Stop Mohmoo! Where are you going?" Hachi shouted angrily.

"Mohmoo. What are you doing?"

Arlong's dark voice made everyone in the court yard freeze, including the giant sea cow. "Okay, if you really want to leave. I won't stop you." It began to shake. "Just go Mohmoo." With a loud cry, the sea king turned around, viciously baring its teeth to the pirates. "Here it comes!"

"Let's go with Mohmoo!"

"We have to teach these puny humans a lesson!"

"A bit racist are we?" Kya muttered, gabbing her dagger as Sanji chuckled beside her. "Yah!" Usopp shouted, though his knees were shaking, and Zoro began to unsheathe his katana. "Leave this to me." Luffy punched his knuckles together. "I will take care of them." Steam was pouring from his nostrils as the others, aside from Usopp, frowned impatiently.

Luffy marched forward, listing his left leg up before slamming it down into the concrete. He did the same with his other leg, and Kya hung her head low. "Oh no." She sighed to herself. "What is he doing?" Sanji muttered, his cigarette hanging from his lips. Zoro's hand rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his forehead straining. "I have a bad feeling about this."

His twisted his body around, his fists hitting the attacking fishmen in the face. He stopped spinning and stretched his arms out to grab Mohmoo's horns, and the poor beast was in tears again as the fishmen gasped. "He has the power of a Devil Fruit!"

"Let's get out of here!" Usopp took off back towards the villagers, making Kya slap a hand to her forehead. "Eh? What's he doing?" Sanji asked casually. "I don't know!" Zoro practically shouted.

"Rubber…"

Her arm was grabbed, and she was pulled back into someone's chest roughly. "Kya-chwan~! You're so cuuute!" Sanji cooed, wrapping his arms around her. "Stop calling me that!" She elbowed him roughly in the stomach, sending him backwards. "We don't have time for this Ero-cook!" Zoro shouted, and Sanji glowered at him.

"Windmill!"

Luffy's body untwisted, sending the cow flying into half the courtyard and most of the fishmen. When his body began to get to last few twists, he released Mohmoo, sending it flying back to the sea. "I don't want to fight these weaklings! The only person that I really want to beat up is you!" He yelled angrily, jabbing his finger at Arlong, who smiled devilishly. "That's great, because I was just thinking about killing you too."

Kya, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp ran up to Luffy, who was stuck in the ground. Four fishmen stood by Arlong, looking unpleased. "It seems that we have to get involved too." One with large fins on his arms said gruffly. "How could you do that to my friends!?" Hachi shouted dramatically to the air. "Let's plays." Another one licked his lips; his legs and back were oddly taken over by large sail like fins, almost like wings. "We have to teach them the difference between species, chu." The last fishman had pouty, pink lips and rosy cheeks.

"So odd…." Kya muttered, crossing her arms as Zoro grabbed his katana, smirking. "So they want to fight now." He said, a little too eagerly; he'd nearly died the other day and he was already itching for another battle. "That was dangerous idiot!" Sanji kicked the imprisoned Luffy in the head roughly while Usopp stood on his other side. "You wanted to kill us too?!"

"Well! Let's warm up first!"

The fishmen walked forward, deadly smiled on their faces. "Arlong-san, you can just take seat and relax." Pointy Arms said to the captain. "We definitely got this!" The winged one stretched his arms above his head, shaking his hips a little as Hachi bent over with his arms crossed. "If we let you do anything, chu, Arlong Park would be destroyed." Pouty Lips said lightly.

"Take this! Dark power!"

"What is that octopus doing?" Zoro asked boredly, and Kya shrugged with an eyebrow raised. "First you have to boil the octopus, and then slice it into pieces. Eat it with sauce and it will be a very good appetizer." Sanji informed them casually. "Hey, listen to me!" Luffy tried to speak, while Usopp simply ran off.

"Black Ink!"

They barely had time to dodge the mess of black liquid hurdling towards them. Kya skidded on the ground and turned quickly, seeing everyone was fine…..except Luffy. "I can't move my legs! And I can't see!" He wailed. Her fists clenched tightly; how much of an idiot can one person be?

"Black Ink…." A loud rumbling noise came from the debris, and a large piece of the wall was lifted up by the octopus man. "On the rocks!" He went to slam the concrete onto Luffy's head, but Sanji was quick to intervene. "Geez…. I have to follow the craziest captain in the whole world." He muttered, his leg in the air. "That's nice Sanji!"

Kya let out a breath in relief; what would Luffy be without them? "Anyway, you're still 1000 times better than a person who makes a woman cry." Sanji smirked at the fishmen, who chuckled in arrogance. "You are just a human with little skill… I never thought pirates would become heroes. Anyways, you are nothing compared to us." Pointy Arms boasted loudly as Usopp tried to remove Luffy from the concrete slab.

"Nothing or something, I don't give a damn about that fishy. Even though I looked like this, I was raised as a pirate." Sanji tapped his cigarette, letting the grey ash fall to the ground. "It seems that you still don't realize the real level of the fishman species."

"Still not moving Luffy?" Usopp pulled the straw hat boy to the side. "It's just stretching, not moving at all." Luffy stuck a finger in his nose. "Are you taking this seriously at all?!"

'_We're doomed.'_ Kya sighed heavily as she rubbed her temple with two fingers. _'We're all doomed.' _"What are they playing here at Arlong Park?" Hachi shouted, seeming a bit offended. "You must die!" He picked up a large piece of stone, aiming it at the two boys before Zoro intervened.

"Now that Hachi's busy…." Kya turned quickly and grabbed the wrist of the winged fishman who was hurdling straight for her captain. "Tch. Did you not hear? He only wants to fight Arlong. Not you idiots." She pushed him back roughly, and he smirked at her. "I see we have a tough girl here." He snickered and the wings on his body opened up. "I am Furai, a four winged flying fishman!"

She jumped out of the way as he flew at her, smashing into the ground. "I'll get you!" He cried, and he grabbed her leg tightly. _'He's so fast.'_ She grimaced and brought her foot down onto his bald head. They both slammed into the ground, Furai hitting it harder than herself.

"Arlong-san, I told you to take a seat and relax."

She stood quickly, and Furai followed suit, as Arlong slowly meandered his way over to the group. "I'm not going to do anything, I just want to say something." But he never got the chance. "For you," Luffy brought his arm back. "You will be crushed by me!" His hand went straight into the fishman's mouth.

"You really think you can beat us up." She bit her cheek as Arlong walked in front of Luffy and bent down, the rubber boy's hand grasped between his webbed fingers. "So what if we do?" Sanji retorted smugly. "I must think I can moron! Release my hand!" Luffy shouted fiercely as Kya kept quiet. "So what do you want to say?" Zoro pressed, smirking.

"It's not necessary anymore." Arlong placed his hand straight into the ground by Luffy's feet. "Why don't we play a game?" He lifted a slab of concrete with Luffy's encased legs into air along with the young boy. "A person who has a skill from the Devil Fruit won't be able to swim but in a situation like this even a normal person can't survive." He cackled as Luffy yelled and squirmed.

"Is he going to throw Luffy into the sea?!" Zoro cried out as Kya lunged for the rubber boy. "Luffy!" She screamed, but her Furai's hand was quickly clasped around her throat, lifting her in the air. "Bullet!" She watched helplessly as Luffy shot his arm into Arlong's mouth. "Luffy!" She coughed out as the shark fishman bit down on his hand. "Hey that hurt!"

"Idiot." Arlong muttered before Luffy bite down on his own arm. "That's cheating!" He yelled, before tossing the boy into the water. "Luffy!" Zoro yelled as Sanji slipped off his shoes. "We must help him!" He yelled but Zoro grabbed his arm.

"You and your friends are dead meat." Furai chuckled, gripping her throat tighter. "Shut…up." Her voice was hoarse and her breath was limited; she was near unconscious. He humphed before tossing her to the ground. "You're worthless." He said as she gasped for air. "Shut up you bastard." She pushed herself, her lungs burning, up on her feet.

She looked over to see Zoro, panting and sweating heavily. "Tch. He's gonna kill himself." She muttered out loud, only making the winged fishman laugh loudly. "You should what what you're doing." He said, just before his fist collided in the ground just before her feet. _'Dammit.'_ She curse as her body was thrown backwards and she rolled on the ground painfully.

"You're so weak!"

She cracked her neck as she stood to her feet slowly, glaring at the fishman. This was getting old, real fast. Before she could attack, the octopus man was thrown back at her, nearly taking her head off. She ducked quickly and Hachi flew back into the building. "What the hell…." She looked at the scene behind before turning forwards just in time to see Zoro fall face first onto the ground. "Baka." She cursed, ignoring her battle yet again.

"Pay attention." Furai sung as he leapt forward, grabbing her arm tightly. With one thrust, she was thrown behind him, straight into the water. Her hands clasped around her mouth before she registered the fact she was sinking. A maniacal cackling echoed around her and she opened her eyes to see Furai swimming straight towards her.

'_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.'_ She tried to swim up but he was quicker; grabbing her leg as he swiftly pulled them both down. The pressure was building up and she could feel the blood escaping from her nostrils. _'I have to do something. I can't use Rankyaku, there isn't any air. Dammit.'_ She did the best she could, bringing her leg down as hard as she could under this pressure against his head. He released her leg and grabbed his head, wailing in pain.

'_Isn't that…?' _She watched with wide eyes as one of the villagers, the man with the scars, pushed onto Luffy's chest while his head was stretched out to somewhere on the other side of the wall. _'He's okay.'_ She let out a breath of relief mentally and quickly turned back to Furai.

"That only hurt a little!" He chuckled, swimming quickly towards her. _'Kami-e.'_ Her body floated in the water graciously, moving away from every one of the fishman's punches. _'Shigan.'_ Blood spewed from his chest as he floated backwards slowly.

Her lungs were on fire; she couldn't hold her breath any longer. Just as she began to swim towards the surface, Sanji jumped into the water. He smirked at her as he swam down towards Luffy. _'That idiot!' _She watched him swim down a little farther until a disturbance caught her attention. Pointy Arms was swimming straight at Sanji, his arm ready to attack. She opened her mouth to scream, but only bubbles came out.

'_I can't hold it any longer.' _She kicked her legs, her body aching and nearly losing consciousness as she broke through the surface of the water. The air raced down into her lungs as she climbed up onto the concrete. "Sister Kya!" She heard Johnny cry out, Yosaku joining in with him. She shook her head as she leaned over before coughing violently. _'I can't stay in the water like that again.'_

"You're an idiot! You could have drowned!"

She sat up slowly, wiping the blood from her mouth. "Mah, mah. I'm fine." She waved Zoro off casually, turning so she could sit. "You're the one who's in idiot." She frowned, looking at his bloody and torn bandages. "Don't. Just don't." He shook his head solemnly, making her snort.

She was about to say something, but Sanji suddenly popped up out of the water, breathing heavily. "Sanji!" She yelled and the young man swam over to them. "Hey you." Zoro started angrily as the chef pulled himself out of the water. "Don't worry he's safe?"

"Really?" Zoro seemed dumbfounded, and Kya chuckled. "Well, 50%." She muttered, a little bemused. "50%?!" He repeated and she chuckled more. "We'll explain later." Sanji then turned and pointed at the water. "Hey come on up here you stupid fish! I will slice you in pieces and eat it with sauce!"

That's when the two fishmen came out of the water; Furai opened his wings and flew straight into her and they crashed into the building. "You hurt me you little bitch!" He cried, kicking a few pieces of debris away. "Tch. You talk way too much." She grumbled, brushing herself off. "How dare you mock me!" She flipped forward, bringing her legs down in a diagonal line. "Rankyaku." The air blade cut across his chest, leaving a large and bloody wound. His mouth twitched and he gasped, looking for words, but none came to him as he fell to the ground.

She stepped over him, walking back over to the two boys. Arlong stood among the debris, an angry look plastered on his face. "After all, you are just losers. We win this game." Sanji stated smugly.

"You! How dare you beat up my beloved nakama?! It seems that I am too easy on you!" Arlong bellowed as Zoro began to unsheathe his sword. "You guys said that Luffy was 50% safe. What do you mean?" He asked suddenly. "First, he won't die for sure. But I have to go down there and take care of something." Sanji informed him.

"But I don't think that guy will allow us to do that." Kya added, clenching her fists. Arlong smirked devilishly, walking to the water. "I guess I'll take care of the girl first…" He bent down to the water, holding some of it in his palm. Zoro stood quickly next to her, growling lightly to himself. "What is this fish bastard doing?"

With a simple flick of the fishman's wrist, the water came hurling towards her, hitting her exposed stomach. _'What is this?!'_ Her body screamed in pain, blood escaping from her nose in mouth as she fell to the ground. Her vision was blurry, but she could still make out Sanji and Zoro next to her. "What did you do to her you fish bastard?!" Zoro screamed but Arlong only shot her with another water bullet. This time, she let out a cry of pain. She'd never felt this much physical agony before, and her body wasn't used to it. She couldn't hold on much longer.

"Stop it!" Zoro yelled again, silenced by being hit with a water bullet in his chest. "Stop." Kya coughed, her voice unheard as Zoro fell on his back next to her. "What the hell did-" Sanji's sentence was cut short as he was hit with the water also.

'_This can't be happening.'_ She tried to move but her tired body resisted it. Sanji groaned, rolling on his side. "Sanji.." She whispered, spitting more of the coppery liquid from her mouth. The cook pushed his weary body up. "Brother chef! Please stand up! How is Luffy doing?! Or is he dead?!" Yosaku and Johnny were screaming at them, only adding more pressure. Blood poured from Sanji's mouth as he stood to face Arlong in front of Zoro and herself.

"You are just weakling humans. I don't even have to touch you and make my hands dirty." Arlong played with the water in his palm. "Just this amount of water can kill you. That is the difference between our species and yours."

"Maybe you underestimate us. Chest kick!" Sanji's slender leg came up to Arlong's chest, but his maneuver was easily avoided. He fell to the ground, having been hit with another water bullet. _'Shit. Shit. Shit.'_ Kya clenched her fists, pushing her body to its limit. "I think you'd better hurry and die, cause your life is not worth anything."

Kya pushed herself off the ground and onto her feet, staggering slightly. "Kya-chan…" Sanji heaved, blood pouring from his face. "You haven't even seen our full potential." She smirked at Arlong, making him chuckle.

"You've got a mouth on you."

His webbed hands were around her throat quickly, lifting her off the ground. _'This will keep him off the others for a little bit…'_ She coughed blood onto his blue hand as he grinned. "I don't like mouth women."

"Arlong!"

Nami's voice echoed around the park, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Nami-san~!" Sanji cooed, even though he was near death. _'Lovesick fool.' _Kya mocked as Arlong squeezed her throat. "Nami. I'm about to crush these worthless pirates to the ground. What are you doing here?"

"I've come here to kill you."

Arlong laughed; he laughed so loud Kya thought her eardrum would burst until he dropped her on the ground beside Zoro. "Kill me?! For eight years we've been together…How many times have you tried to kill me? Attack me off guard, poison me, or even hire someone. Listen, I won't kill you, and I won't let you go. You will be our navigator forever! But as you've already known, I'm not a cruel person. I will not lock you up. If possible, I want you to still be our navigator. I am going to kill every human here except you. However if you say that you will join us again and continue drawing maps for us…I will spare every Cocoyashi villagers' lives." He took a moment to kick Sanji in the side. "But not for these guys, because they have created too much trouble."

Kya looked up at the evil fishman, growling to herself. If she could move she'd have that bastard's ass on a silver platter. She hated ignorant and manipulative people like him. They reminded her of _him_. "Join us and save Cocoyashi's villagers or follow these insects and try to kill me, but as you can see, these hopeful people can't do anything anymore. You cans see a big tragedy with your eyes. So Nami, will you join us? Or are you going to choose them?" She turned to look at the orange haired girl, who stood with a wooden staff clutched in her hands and Luffy's hat atop her head. Nami was sweating, her mind racing on what to do when she turned towards the villagers. "I am sorry everyone!" She shouted. "Please fight…with me!"

"Sure!"

"You asked for it." Arlong growled as the people began to march forward. But before the battle could ensue, a loud cry stood everyone in their tracks. It seemed like a large water spout had erupted on the other side of the wall and someone took in a deep breath. _'Luffy!'_ Kya smiled lightly. Everything would be just fine.

"He's back. The only thing left is to destroy that rock." Sanji chuckled lightly. "So, this is what you guys were talking about." Zoro rolled over on his side after he seemed to be dead. Kya staggered to her feet, crossing her arms over her chest as the swordsman gave the villagers a thumbs down. "We can give you 45 seconds. I can't take more than that." He informed Sanji, who quickly jumped into the water. "That's more than enough."

"We didn't have a fountain over there. Is it that rubber man?!" Arlong asked himself, but Zoro was quick to distract him. "Don't worry there's nothing going on, you half fish, half human." He growled lowly, making Arlong give a murderous stare in their direction. "I told you not to say that word. Do you want to die that much Roronoa Zoro?"

"Kya, stay back for a little." The green haired man said lowly, making her frown. "I'm not going to let you fight him by yourself." She declared finally, making him sigh. Just as Arlong pulled his arm back to hit the two, some sort of disgusting substance was shot over his arm.

"Rotten Eggs Shot!"

Kya turned to see Usopp, cowering behind a hole in the wall. "I've come here to rescue you, Zoro! Kya!" He declared, though his body was tremoring. She chuckled lightly to herself, she'd nearly forgotten about the sharpshooter. "Please fight hard!" He yelled making Zoro flinch in annoyance. "You're over there?!"

"Hey Nami! I defeated one of the other fishmen!" Usopp shouted, making the navigator smile lightly. "I won't allow you to do that!" Hachi was on his hands and knees, his body shaking. _'He's still conscious?'_ Kya frowned in the octopus man's general direction. This was going to be a lot harder than she originally thought.

"I don't know what that Brother Chef is doing, but it seems that is the most important key to win!"

"Brother Zoro! Sister Kya! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Johnny and Yosaku were shouting from the sidelines, rather annoyingly, but everyone ignored them. "The person who got their power from a Devil Fruit will lose all their power underwater. If that kid is still alive, it means that there is someone else getting involved in this fight." Arlong stated.

"You've hit me for the last time girly!"

She dodged to the left just as Furai flew past her, landing on his feet and sliding across the pavement. _'How is he still awake?'_ He quickly shot after her again, and she jumped up, her body protesting her actions. The fishman reached up, grabbing her leg and slamming her to the ground. Her head made a sickly crack sound that shook her brain. _'Shit.'_ She turned over on her back, kicking him on the back and into the ground. "Soru." She reappeared above him, jumping down on his back, deeper into the ground.

"That was simple." She mumbled, before her legs gave out. She landed on her back, looking up to see Arlong holding a bloody Zoro by the neck above the water. "Why are you putting up with a lot of bandages?!" Arlong nearly shouted, before tearing them away from Zoro's chest. Th wound had reopened, blood pouring out like a waterfall down the swordsman's chest. "What is this scar?!"

Kya rolled over, coughing slightly, as she pushed herself to her knees. "Let him go." She demanded, her body burning with every slight move. _'Fishmen are too damn strong. That only means we should be stronger.'_

"I don't need to be yelled at by a woman, especially a human woman." Arlong leaned over, grabbing her by her pink hair. She reached up and grabbed his wrist, clutching it tightly. "So you're a racist and sexist, huh?" She grinned at him, but he only frowned.

"Oi. She's weak. Don't bother with her." Zoro began to chuckle lightly, making Arlong release his grip on her. "For once, I'll agree with you." The fishman brought his hand back, aiming straight for her face. She flinched away, waiting for the impact that never came. "…Better do nothing." Zoro coughed out. "That wound is going to open…..what a moron." He seemed to be talking more to himself than anything else.

"That's right. You are a very strange person." Arlong chuckled, lowering his webbed hand. "I didn't talk about myself. I was talking about that squidy!" Zoro was chuckling to himself now. "What?"

"I told you that we would win this game."

Just then, a loud splashing sound came from behind the wall, and something shot up into the air. "Luffy!" Kya laughed to herself, placing a hand on her face. _'Thank heavens.' _She couldn't help but smile. "I'm back!" The young captain giggled loudly. "That rubber brat!" Arlong growled lowly. "You're late, baka!" Zoro shouted, gaining Luffy's attention.

"Zoro! Kya!" Luffy's arm stretched out, grabbing onto them. "Hey don't! Are you gonna-!?" Zoro twitched in anger, while she stared horridly at Luffy's rubber hand. "Luffy, I swear to-"

"Let's change!"

She let out a cry as she flew upwards, seeing Arlong turn into a mere ant. _'I'm going to kill him!' _She closed her eyes as she began to descend, bracing for impact. "I got you!"

A soft thud reached her ears as she landed, a small mass under her so she couldn't hit the ground. Opening her blue eyes, she saw Usopp, twitching lightly underneath her. "Sorry." She snickered, pushing herself off of him. "I-I's okay." He muttered, making her chuckle as she staggered her way over to the villagers.

"Kya-san." Nami was practically in tears, chewing on her bottom lip. "Meh, shut up." The shorter girl waved her off, turning to se Luffy doing some odd stretch with Arlong sitting in front of him. "What's going on?"

"I wonder if Brother Luffy can defeat him! Even though Brother Luffy hit him, he is still fine." Yosaku said, clenching his fist, ignoring the assassin's question. "How about Brother Zoro?! Where has he been thrown to?!" Johnny yelled at him. "Eh, that is a good question. I didn't see where that baka went….." She trailed off, scratching the side of her face.

"Get him Luffy! I will stay here and cheer you on!" Usopp yelled from the hole in the wall. "That's not necessary." Nami sighed heavily as Arlong stood to his feet. "Do you know what the difference between you and me is?" He growled lowly. "Teeth…" Luffy cracked his hands. "….Or jaw?"

"Brother is insulting that man!"

"No, that's exactly what he thinks!"

"Fascia, right?!" Luffy tried to prove himself innocent, only pissing the fishman off more. "It's species!" Arlong's jaws clamped down as he rushed past the dodging Luffy. He kept biting down, only grabbing air, as the rubber boy moved freely around him.

'_It's almost like Kami-e….' _Kya thought as her captain was held by the throat against a pillar. As Arlong reached towards his head, he grabbed his head with his hand, moving it away so the fishman bit down on the structure. "Idiot! You bite at the rock and your teeth will break!" Usopp shouted.

"This must be a joke! He can destroy that pole with his teeth!" Yosaku and Johnnys' eyes nearly fell out of their heads. "Oo. That was close." Luffy breathed, moving away from the very angered Arlong. "This is the power of the merman since we were born! Heaven gave us the power to separate us from you. So we are different! Humans have been lower and weaker than us since the day he was born!"

Luffy punched part of the rock near him, destroying it completely. "So what? Does that give you the right to boast? I don't have to bite to destroy a rock." He said simply. "Ouch that hurt!" Yosaku yelled out. "See that?! The result was still the same anyways!" Johnny screamed after him. "Even though he's an airhead." Kya sat down carefully. "He has some good points."

"Boring." Arlong stated before charging forward. "Humans are a stupid species with no power! When you were drowning, you couldn't do anything! So what can you do now?" That's when Luffy picked up to swords from the fallen fishmen, holding them awkwardly. "Tch. He's going to hurt himself. Baka." She muttered, leaning back on her hands.

"Because I can't do anything, others have to help me." He giggled, holding the swords out, before swinging them at Arlong, who dodged with ease. "What are you doing? You're just swinging those swords around. That's nothing." He said, before Luffy slapped him clear across the face. "If you want to play, I don't have time to play with you." He noticed just in time as Luffy swung the katana at him, catching it in his razor sharp teeth causing it to break.

Luffy leaned back, aiming his arm. "Your teeth will break!" He punched Arlong under the jaw, causing his teeth to shatter on impact. _'What brute strength.'_ Kya cocked her head in interest. "Arlong's teeth are breaking!" One of the villagers cried out in disbelief. "How can I know how to use swords, you idiot?! I don't know anything about navigation! I've never lied to anyone! And I can't sneak around quietly! I am sure that if no one helps me, I can't survive!"

A small smile spread over the young girl's face, her eyebrow quirking a little. _'Was that the best example you could use for me Luffy?'_ She thought sarcastically as Luffy began to laugh. "I've never though that you were this worthless. You are only good at boasting. Your crew must have headaches with a captain like you. I don't know why these people have to risk their lives for you."

"A person with no pride like you is not worth being a captain! What can you do?!" Arlong yelled, sitting upright. "I can defeat you." Luffy said cockily. "Get him brother Luffy!" Yosaku shouted, making Kya flinch. "So damn loud. Just let him fight." She looked up at Nami, who was currently staring at the scene dumbfounded. "You should have just told us." She mumbled to the navigator, who clinched her fists tightly. "I'm sorry." She muttered, her hands shaking.

"Shut up you puny human!"

Focusing back on the scene, Kya watched with mixed feelings as Arlong grew his teeth back with ease. "Ah! He can grow his teeth again!" Luffy stated the obvious. "Saw-fish can always grow back their teeth, and these teeth are stronger than the old ones!" He pulled the new pair of teeth out, regrowing more. "No matter how many times it is!" He pulled out his teeth again. "No matter when it will be!"

"That's so cool!"

"This is the gift that heaven gave to us!" He held the two teeth in both hands, snapping them. "So do you understand, how great fishmen are?" He asked, blooding dripping from his mouth. _'He's using his own teeth as weapons.'_ Kya swallowed heavily, chewing the inside of her lip. "Killing teeth!" He lunged at Luffy, who barely avoided the attack. Just as he stopped one hand, the other came at him, biting Luffy.

"Brother Luffy!"

She stood to her feet, nearly passing out in the process, but as the dust cleared, it showed Luffy was just fine. He used one of Arlong's crew to block the attack, the sharp teeth were currently imbedded in the fishman's face. _'That's a bit low.'_ She let out a breath of relief. "My…My crew!" Arlong cried as the fishman whimpered something. "Phew, I've got some good ideas." Luffy chuckled.

"You used my crew as a shield! You little brat!" Arlong was seething with angry, his muscles tensing with every word. "You don't have the right to say that because you did that too." Luffy retorted, placing his hands on his hips. "Brother Luffy said that he came up with a good idea." Yosaku noted. "I wonder what his idea is." Johnny added. "Probably something detrimental." Kya groaned, rubbing her temple.

"Tooth gum!" Luffy dodged the attacks again, this time reaching back, planting his foot on the fishman's face and grabbing his arm. "It comes out." He stated as Arlong went flying back, without teeth in his mouth. "You! How many times have I told you its worthless to try and destroy my teeth? Don't you get it!" His teeth grew back, yet again. "So, Brother Luffy's good idea is…." Everyone looked at the rubber boy…only to see him with Arlong's teeth in his mouth.

"Look! I have the same teeth as you now!" He pointed, making Kya hang her head low. "Just when I thought he was going to be smart…." She muttered out loud. "How long will you continue to insult me?!" Arlong reached out, barely missing Luffy's head. "Agh the shark is biting me!" Luffy yelled out dramatically, falling to the ground.

"Stop playing around!"

"Who said that I was playing?!" He shouted back at Yosaku and Johnny, trying to be serious. "Tooth gum!" He picked up a large rock, holding it in front of him so Arlong couldn't bit his body. The recoil of the attack sent him flying backward, making the saw-nosed man laugh out loud. He bent down, grabbing Luffy by the chest. _'Oh no. This isn't good.'_ Kya wanted to badly to help him out, but she knew he'd only be angry with her.

Suddenly, Arlong cried out in pain as Luffy bit down on his shoulder, blood spurting everywhere. "How was that?! You got hurt by your own teeth!" Luffy shouted, falling backwards. "It is my teeth, but your jaws aren't strong enough." Arlong removed the teeth from his shoulder. "Listen! Shark's teeth have the power that can destroy the human body in one bite!" He lunged forward, biting down on Luffy's arm. "This is the real power of a shark's jaw!"

"Ah! He got his arm!"

Luffy cried out as Arlong bite down harder, struggling a bit before taking the fishman and send him straight to the ground. He removed his arm, falling to the side. "He could've lost his arm, dammit." Kya curse, struggling with what to do. She watched painfully as Arlong sat up and jumped into the water.

"Eh? Where is he?" Luffy asked out loud after removing the jaw from his arm. "Luffy! In the sea!" Usopp shouted loudly. The captain walked towards the water, leaning over the side just as a fin came above water. "It's just a shark!" He declared stupidly, and she hit her forehead with her palm. "That's Arlong!" She told him, just as the fin disappeared again.

After a momentary silence, something large was shot out of the water, straight into Luffy and then into the building. "Arlong shot himself from the sea!?" Yosaku shouted loudly as Luffy flew to the side, his body covered in blood.

"Ouch, that hurt!" He whined after falling on his face. It hadn't even been a mere minute before Arlong shot himself off again, but this time Luffy dodged it. "He can use his nose to destroy the floor!" He exclaimed, staring at the scene before him. Arlong was in the ground, but only by his nose. _'How strong is his nose?!'_ Kya thought, watching as Arlong hit Luffy multiple times with the same attack.

"Luffy! Don't stand there! He went underwater again!" Usopp warned loudly. "Get out of there brother!" Johnny and Yosaku yelled together. "No." Luffy retaliated. "What the hell are you saying?! You are on his target! Get out of there!" Another voice shouted; most likely Sanji.

"No! I will catch him and destroy his nose!" Luffy stood over the edge of the water, his fists clenched tightly. "What is he doing, trying to get killed?" Kya grumbled, crossing her arms over her bloody midriff. "Why don't you try that again, you little shark!?" He growled angrily. "I told you to get out of there! Don't you understand Luffy!? If you stand like that he'll get you and you'll be killed!" Usopp shouted at him in fear. "Rubber shield." Luffy grabbed his hand, stretching his fingers in front of him.

"What's that?"

"So he wants to directly confront him?"

That's when Arlong shot out of the water, straight into Luffy, sending them both into the building. "He got him!" Yosaku cried out, nearly fainting at the sight. "What's that?! He got hurt!?" Usopp asked loudly, and Kya shook her head. "No! Luffy is the one who jumped!" She explained, pointing to him on the side of the building. _'At least he's okay.'_

"I can defeat your technique now! You can't use it on me anymore!" He chuckled, holding onto the building tightly, though it didn't last long. Arlong shot out of the building, missing Luffy by an inch. "You can't escape from me!" He shouted loudly. "That was a lucky shot! You scared me!" Luffy defended childishly. "So you got a problem rubber?! Die!"

"Net!"

Just as Arlong shot towards the falling boy, his fingers stretched around him like a net. 'The fisherman casts a net. Followed by…" He placed his feet together before stretching them into Arlong, sending the fishman straight into the ground, destroying it. "Staff!"

"Wow!"

"It worked!"

"It's too early to celebrate." Kya said glumly, sensing the anger radiating from Arlong's body as Luffy began to descend from the sky. "Arlong's eyes are changing!" Someone cried out. "It's the first time I've seen his eyes like that." Nami muttered, her body shaking in fear.

"You're just a puny human!" Arlong grabbed Luffy by the hair. "But you dare fight…..a merman like me!?" He tossed the rubber boy straight into the building. "That was so scary." Luffy said suddenly, laying among the debris casually. "I'm not hurt but the man has become reckless."

"Then get up and fight." Kya sighed as Arlong charged. His fist broke through the wall as Luffy jumped up high with a grin on his face. When Arlong removed his arm, he had a long katana with multiple, large blades on it in his hand. "A giant blade?!" The bounty hunters cried together in fear. "What the hell kind of blade is that?" She frowned, stumbling forward a bit. "Kiribachi!" Nami cried out. Arlong swung the katana at Luffy, who dodged it, and it nearly sliced the building in half.

"He's not stopping!"

"How far is he going to chase him!?"

'_I can't see him.'_ Kya grimaced, tapping her arm lightly. This would have to end sometime; there can't be two winners. "He went inside." She stated as the building was torn to shreds. "The left window on the highest floor…..The navigation room." Nami swallowed, her eyes shaking.

The air was tense, and nothing was happening. _'It couldn't be over…'_ Kya fought the urge to run inside. "Dammit! I don't know what will happen to Brother Luffy!" Yosaku cried out, and she had enough. "Stop wailing!" She demanded, and the two bounty hunters quickly shut up, backing away from her.

"What's that?!"

A loud crash indicated movement, and a large desk came flying out the top floor. Johnny and Yosaku began to chat idly, something about Luffy, but it was unimportant to her at the moment. "Luffy?" Nami whispered breathlessly, her body trembling. It sounded like a bomb had exploded in the room; loud crashing sounds echoed around them and furniture began to fall from the building.

Luffy was yelling, but no one could make out what it was. Nami placed a hand over her mouth, tears falling from her eyes. _'He must be destroying the room for her…'_ Kya scowled as the demolition stopped. "He can't be-" Johnny was cut off by a foot shooting up through the very top of the building.

"….Axe!"

That's when a large crack shot straight through the center of the building and the foundation began to give away. "What's that?!" Everyone began to back away as the building began to crumble to the ground.

"Look!"

"Arlong Park has collapsed! I must be crazy!"

"This is dangerous! Take shelter!" Yosaku shouted, running away. "Let's g Sister Nami, Sister Kya!" Johnny grabbed their arms, attempting to pull them back. "But Luffy is still in there"! The orange haired girl cried out.

"Luffy!"

Kya managed to grab the girl, pulling her out of the way of oncoming debris. "Luffy will be fine! We have to worry about ourselves!" She yelled, joining up with the rest of the villagers. That's when it fell apart completely, leaving only dust.

"Arlong Park is destroyed!"

"Brother!"

"What happened inside there?"

There, at the very top, stood a bloody and injured Luffy. His arms were tense and bloody, his face looking down. "Luffy!" Nami cried happily, while Kya grinned. "B-B-Brother!"

"Nami!" Luffy called out, silencing everyone. "You are my nakama!" His words caused sobs to escaped from her lips, tears pouring down her face. "Yes!" She declared, and the villagers began to cheer. "Arlong Park is destroyed!"

"Stop right there!"

Standing behind them stood a man wearing a mouse like hat and whiskers over his lips, many other Marines standing by his side as he snickered. "That man!" a few people cried, indicating he had done something already. _'Marines are a pain in the ass.'_ Kya 'tched' as she walked forward, standing in front of the Marines.

"This is my lucky day. I had a chance to witness a very interesting fight from beginning to end. It's not strange to say that you are very lucky because no one will believe that unknown pirates defeated those fishmen!" The Marine reached forward, cackling madly. "Because of you, every single Beli of Arlong will be mine! Everyone drop your weapons! I, commander Nezumi of Unit 16 will be happy to accept all the treasure!"

Just then, Zoro walked through the middle of the Marines, causing each and every one of them to have a heart attack, including a fleeing Nezumi. "Everyone is happy." He said after grabbing the back of the Commander's jacket. "So you'd better not disturb them."

"Oi, oi. Let me have a whack at him." Sanji butted in as he walked up to them. "Don't forget about me!" Luffy cried, pushing his way through the crowd. "Tch. Idiots." Kya muttered before punching the man square in the jaw. "Now I've got the first hit." She chuckled, sending the three boys, Usopp joining in later, into a beating frenzy of Marines.

"You think that you can get away with this?" Nezumi gasped, laying bloody and bruised among his subordinates. "Still talking like this?" Sanji asked boredly as Nami walked up to the Commander. "This is…" She bent down in front of him. "For shooting Nojiko and destroying Bele-meil-san's orange farm." She stood up, swinging her staff straight into his face, sending him flying back. "Sir!"

"Thank you Nami! That's so cool!" Nojiko said happily, while the scarred man seethed next to her. "I still want to beat him up!"

* * *

After getting rid of Nezumi and the other Marines, the villagers and pirates meandered their way back to the village, immediately beginning to celebrate the victory. Kya sighed lightly, crossing her arms over her chest. The doctor had treated them, and was now focusing on Zoro, whose grunts of pain could be heard on the other side of the island.

"Still not finished yet?" Sanji asked from her right side. "It is supposed to be that way. His wound needs more than two years to heal." Usopp explained from her other side. "He is so crazy! And he moves too much!" The cook exasperated, making her chuckle. "We're all pretty different, no?"

As night approached, festivities began; partying, dancing, singing, drinking, eating, and anything else you could imagine. Kya sat quietly in between two buildings, munching on an apple. _'It's weird to see so many people who have been through similar things as me.'_ She took a sip of her sake. _'It's really a small world.'_

"Not a party person?"

She bit into her apple, shrugging casually. Zoro sat next to her, taking a large swig of his drink. "How's your wound?" She brought her legs up to the seat, sitting cross legged. "Doesn't hurt at all?" She asked suspiciously. "Nope." He almost did stop her hand from slapping the middle of his chest. "Don't you dare." He warned, making her chuckle. "Couldn't resist."

"My beautiful Kya-chwan!~ Why are you sitting with such a stupid marimo head?!" Sanji came twirling over to the two, hearts in his eyes. "I told you not to call me that." She mumbled, taking another bite of her apple. "Who are you calling a marimo you ero-cook?!" Zoro shouted angrily, but the chef simply ignored him, sliding down against the wall opposite of them.

"I've never eaten so much food in my life." He complained, puffing his cigarette. "Ah, they've waited eight years for this day. I can't even imagine." Zoro commented, downing his sake. "And Nami-swan~ will be joining us!" Sanji cooed; apparently that was more important than the fact they had just defeated a big name pirate.

"Ya." She sighed, looking down at her apple; suddenly she wasn't that hungry anymore. "So, Kya-chwan~, why are you in a crew full of idiots?" Sanji asked suddenly, blinking at her. She tossed her apple to the side, sighing lightly. "Why not? I need to get to the Grand Line anyways."

"Why would someone as beautiful as you want to go somewhere so dangerous~?"

She twitched, trying to ignore the sweetness. "That's where I'm from." She said simply before Luffy staggered over to the three, food in his mouth and hands. "Hey Sanji! What was the last piece of melon that you just ate?!" He shouted, food spurting from his lips. "What's with the full hand of meat? Are you going to sell it?" Zoro joked bitterly. "Oh! That's fresh ham melon. So the thing that was son the melon was fresh ham." Sanji noted idly.

"Fresh ham melon?! Where did you get that?!"

"The whole village is celebrating, so there's food everywhere. I can't eat anymore." He explained boredly, and Luffy huffed. "I will go and find it. I'll be back." He said as he left them. "The only thing he has done lately is eat." Zoro took a sip of his sake while Kya snickered to herself.

"Well in this case." Sanji stood, brushing himself off before holding a hand out to her. "Would you like to join me in a dance?" He asked in a deep voice. "No." She said simply, crushing his heart. "That's okay Kya-chwan~! I'll wait for you!" He sung, running off to find more women to flirt with.

"He's annoying." Zoro grumbled, leaning his head back against the building. "He isn't so bad, once you look past his flirting." She shrugged, looking up at the sky. "Annoying." She chuckled at him. "Maybe we'll find you a cute girl who will give you food without hitting you."

He snorted. "Shut up." She snickered lightly before sighing. "We're almost to the Grand Line." She said to the sky. "How far away is your home from the Red Line?" He asked boredly. "Not far enough." She said, though her reply went unheard as he was already fast asleep.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who reads my terrible story. School started so I haven't been able to update much, but I will try at least once a week!**


	17. A Whale of a Tale

**Chapter 17**

"**It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."-Ernest Hemingway**

* * *

The Straw Hats had spent a few days at Cocoyashi Village, each day consisting of non-stop celebration. Now came the morning of the departure, and the crew was currently stocking up on food and other supplies. The villagers stood around the Going Merry, a mixture of emotions shrouding the air. Johnny and Yosaku stood at the very front, their hands placed on their faces like the first time they had met everyone.

"We will continue our lives as bounty hunters. Thank you for taking care of us." Yosaku said coolly. "We have to say goodbye now, and we wish to see you again someday." Johnny said thoughtfully. Kya swung her legs gently as she sat on the ledge in between Luffy and Sanji, a bored look on her face. Of course she was happy for everyone, but she never did like staying in one place for too long. "Good luck to you." Zoro told his friends, leaning back against the wall. "You too, brother."

"Mah, we should be leaving. But Nami hasn't arrived yet." Usopp spoke up, looking out at the villagers with a hand shielding his eyes. "Maybe she's not coming with us." Zoro put simply, causing Sanji to lose it. "Nami-san is not coming?!" He shouted angrily at his new Captain, who happened to be more concerned over the other night's matters. "You tricked me about those fresh ham melons right?" He stated matter-of-factly, pointing a finger at the chef. Kya couldn't help but snort; what a dolt.

"Raise the anchor!"

Off in the distance stood the young navigator, her face down to the ground as people began to gasp and call her name. Then suddenly, she took off running, straight for the Merry. "She is running here. What is she thinking?" Usopp asked. "She said to raise the anchor, so do it." Luffy told them.

"Unfold the sail!"

Kya did as she was told, climbing to the top of the main mast, untying the main sail. She watched as Zoro pulled the anchor up, and the other boys ran about, doing their duties. Nami ran through the villagers, ignoring whatever words they had to say to her. "Is it a good thing to say goodbye like this?" Sanji asked from the stern. "Just let her do it her own way." Luffy answered.

"Nami-chan!"

"Why?!"

The orange haired girl still ignored them, and leapt from the deck onto the back railing. She jumped down, lifting up her shirt slightly, and hundreds of wallets fell to the ground. "You little thief!" The villagers screamed at her as she kissed some Beli. "She never changes." Usopp sighed heavily. "Is she going to betray us again?" Zoro asked gruffly. "Nami-san that's so cool~!" Sanji gave her a thumbs up, along with a disturbing look. Luffy laughed loudly at her, and Kya merely shook her head, leaning over the crow's nest as the villagers shouted at her some more. "Don't forget out promise kid!" The stitched man, Genzo his name was, shouted at Luffy, who gave him a thumbs up. "Goodbye everyone! I'll see you later!" Nami smiled happily, watching her village disappear out of sight. "Well you guys, looks like we're headed for the Grand Line!" She said happily and everyone nodded in reply. "Let's go!"

* * *

It had been a few days since the crew had left Cocoyashi, and Kya was currently leaning over the crow's nest, bored out of her mind. "How can anyone sit up here and do this all day?" She sighed, when a loud noise caught her attention. "Don't touch it!" She looked down to see Sanji had kicked Luffy into Usopp, who was now screaming in pain. "It's just one orange!" Luffy defended, his stomach growling.

"No! I won't give you one! These are Nami-san's orange trees, I will take care of them with my own life!" Sanji told the boy, standing in front of the trees defensively. "Well, that's okay because I am in a good mood now." Luffy chuckled. "Nami-san! I will give my love to you with all my heart!" Sanji cooed. Said girl simply flipped through the pages of her newspaper. "Thank you Sanji~."

Usopp rolled on the ground, writhing in pain as the captain sighed. "We are finally about to get to the Grand Line!" He pumped his arms in the air. "That's not really anything to be excited about." She muttered but he ignored her. "Right now the world is in total chaos. Gas prices are increasing and there is a war going on." Nami said as she sat down in her lounge chair. As she flipped through the pages, a flyer came out, landing on Usopp's face. As the others looked down at the paper, aside from Zoro and Kya, the cried out; some in joy and some in terror.

"Wow! 30 million Beli! We have become popular!" Kya squinted her eyes to see the paper Luffy was holding. It was a bounty paper, Luffy's smiling face plastered on it with 30,000,000 Beli on the bottom. "Jeesh." She whistled, looking back out to sea. "That's a lot for an East Blue man." She tuned out Nami's scolding and Luffy's cheering and focused out at sea. Something was off in the distance, not too far. "Hey! I see an island over there!" She called out, causing everyone to stop and look. "This means we are very close to the Grand Line." She informed them.

"This island is Loguetown, 'The City of the Beginning and the End'. The legendary Gol D. Roger was born and executed in this town." She continued as the others marveled at it. "The place where the Greatest Pirate was executed…" Luffy trailed off thoughtfully, and her mind wandered off to how much trouble they'd get in here. _'Wonder how many Marines will be there.'_

It didn't take them long to dock, and Luffy was quickly standing in the middle of a busy square. Kya jumped off the Merry, standing next to him. "Mah, be careful Luffy. You've got a bounty on your head." She tried to tell him, but he only pumped his fists in the air. "Wow! What a big city it is! So the pirate era began here!" He nearly shouted. "I will go see the execution place."

"There must be a lot of food here." Sanji marveled. "I will go a buy some tools!" Usopp declared loudly. "I want to buy something too." Zoro added in; all these were directed at Nami. "I can lend you some money, only 300% interest." She giggled, and Kya shook her head. Good thing the young assassin didn't need anything crucial. "See you guys later!" She waved lightly, walking off through the bustling center. _'Let's see what we can find today.'_

"Bah, I should've stayed on the ship." After walking around for half an hour, she found herself bored out of her mind. She fixed her black tube top, pulling it so it stopped just before her naval. Her white shorts stopped about 3 inches above her knee; her dagger and belt lay securely in their right spots.

"A bit OCD now are we?"

She froze as the low voice hit her hears. "I see you followed me." She growled lowly, closing her eyes. "You'd be correct." Ron snickered as he made his way over to her. "I'll be following you until you return to Sora and Niro-sama." He told her simply.

"Tch. I'll be there when I can. I'm not alone you know?" She retorted, walking away from him. "Well you can't take too long." He reached out and grabbed her wrist roughly. "Have you not seen the newspapers?" He asked tauntingly and she shook her head. "Well let's go look for yourself."

He dragged her into a katana shop, and who else happened to be there? Zoro of course, along with another girl. "H-How may I help you?" The weird looking man at the cashier's desk stuttered. "What are you doing in here? Who is that guy?" Zoro asked gruffly, a stern look on his face. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, but chose to ignore him. "I need a newspaper." She told the clerk quickly. "Do you know her?" The small woman piped up suddenly.

Kya turned to study her; short black hair, glasses, black pants, and a floral print shirt. She was currently on her knees, Zoro standing next to her, two more swords added to his waist. The clerk came back with a newspaper and handed it to the assassin carefully, Ron standing behind her. He had his arms on either side of her on the counter, looking over her shoulder at the paper.

"What exactly am I looking for?" She asked, flipping through the pages. "Ah, ah. Wait. Go back a page." He said suddenly, and she listened. There, printed in black and white was a picture of her home. The title was **'Uninhabited Island to be Destroyed Soon'**. Her hands shook slightly and her small mouth formed into a frown. "They're going to-"

"We have no use for it anymore. They'll be leaving soon so you'd better hurry." Those were Ron's last words to her before he quickly departed. _'This isn't good. Shit. If I get there too late I'll never find them again.'_ She chewed the inside of her cheek, reading the article.

'_**Uninhabited island in the Grand Line is soon to be demolished due to dangerous materials found in its dwellings. The World Government cautions all travelers and Marines to avoid this island at all times, as the date of the destruction has not been released. The island is commonly known as Dark Island, due to the heavy fog and heavy rainfall. No beings, humans and animals alike, have been found on the island. Mar-'**_

A large hand was placed on her shoulder, pulling her away from the paper. "Is everything okay?" Zoro looked down at her, an eyebrow raised questioningly. She swallowed the lump in her throat, placing the slightly crumbled newspaper on the counter. "Thanks." She breathed to the clerk before practically running from the building.

"Wait, wait!" She stormed away from the place, thoughts racing in her mind. She as so angry she could cry. _They_ knew she was coming didn't they? All along; and it was probably all Ron's fault too. _'He should die a horrible death.'_ She thought bitterly, pushing her way through the crowd. "Oi, oi. Stop running away." The hand from before was back on her shoulder, stopping her from walking any farther. "What's up with you? And who was that guy?" He asked in one breath, but she simply just shrugged his hand off. "No one. Nothing happened I'm fine." She lied, looking at the ground. "Why can't-"

"I see you got new katanas." She changed the subject, pointing at his two new partners. He grumbled something incoherent, but nodded. "Ya. Just now. When I have three swords, I feel more secure." He told her and she nodded in reply.

They walked in silence, but the farther they walked the less people seemed to be there. "Where are…the people?" Zoro asked, looking around. She shrugged, and that's when they walked up to Usopp, Nami, and Sanji. Nami was carrying a large bag on her back, while Usopp and Sanji were holding an even larger fish. "Where is he?" The pink haired girl asked everyone. "He said that he was going to see the execution place." Nami stated. "Execution place? Isn't that right here?" As the crew looked towards the center of where everyone gathered, they noticed something a little odd. Someone was sitting on top of the execution platform, their head and arms bound by a wooden block. That person just so happened to be Luffy.

"What is he doing at the execution stake?!" Zoro shouted while Usopp screamed in terror. "Oh no…" Kya sighed, hanging her head. "Because this pirate, Monkey D. Luffy, has upset me, he must be executed!" Squinting a little, she saw there was another person with her captain, Buggy to be exact.

"Go and create chaos!"

"Whoever dares to move must die!"

"Yahoo!"

The clown-like pirate's crew began to shout and holler and Buggy and Luffy argued for a minute. "What should we do?" She asked frantically, slightly ticked about how this ended up. "And now I would like to begin the execution in front of you all!"

"A storm's coming; we'd better get out of here." Nami said suddenly. "Usopp! Protect Nami-san with your life!" Sanji threw the large fish at the sharpshooter, before taking off through the crowd with Kya and Zoro. "I…." Luffy's voice echoed around the whole entire island. "…..Am the person who will become the greatest pirate ever!"

"Stop that!" Zoro and Sanji cried out as they ran, Kya trailing behind them. "Sanji! Zoro! Kya!" Luffy shouted happily, struggling against the wooden stock. "Finally you've come, Zoro, Kya. But you are too late!" Buggy raised his sword above his head. "We have to hurry and destroy that stake!" Zoro yelled over the crowd. "I know!"

As they ran forward, some of Buggy's crew lunged at them. "We don't have time for this!" She shouted at them as they easily took down some of the crew. "All of you be prepared and watched, because this is the end of your captain's life!" Buggy laughed manically as she punched a man in the face.

"Kya! Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Nami!"

The three of them stopped and looked up at Luffy, who was giving off his usually grin. "Sorry! But I don't think that I'll survive this time!" He chuckled, and she nearly lost it. "Don't-!" Zoro and Sanji began, but she finished for them. "Don't say that!" She screamed, eyes wide as Buggy brought the sword down to Luffy's neck.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came down right on the stake. _'What luck…'_ Kya breathed out heavily; Luffy was a rubber man so he shouldn't be hurt, right? The wooden stake fell to the ground, up in flames, and a straw hat floated gently to the ground before it. "Lucky! I am safe now!" Luffy laughed happily as he bent down and picked up his precious hat before placing it on his head.

"Well then…" She sighed, crossing her arms as she stood in between Sanji. "Hey! Do you believe in God?" Sanji asked while puffing smoke from his lips. "Don't say something so stupid. Let's get out of this town before Marines come." Zoro scoffed. As if on cue, the sound of Marines echoed around them. "Surround them and close all the streets! Let's arrest them!"

"Here they come! Let's go!" Sanji called out, and the four of them took off running. She was running in front of Luffy, Zoro and Sanji on either side of them as the Marines began to chase after them. Rain began to beta down on them as the Marines caught up. "Watch this!" Luffy cried suddenly, turning around. "What are you doing?!" Zoro screamed at him, pulling at his shirt so they could keep running.

"What a heavy storm…" Kya muttered, her hair now sopping wet and clinging to her small face. "They're still following us! Should we stop and fight them?" Luffy asked, itching to punch someone. "No. it's worthless. Besides, Nami-san told us to get back to the ship as soon as possible." Sanji informed them, before looking forward and spotting the young woman.

'_It's that girl from the shop, except she has a Marne jacket on.' _ Kya noted as the girl frowned. "Roronoa Zoro!" She called out, the rain pouring down on her. "Sergeant Tashigi!" The Marines behind the pirates called out. "I would have never thought that you are Roronoa Zoro. You must be so proud that you can trick me! I can't forgive you now!" She said, making Sanji turn to his swordsman crewmate. "What have you done to that lady?!" He shouted in Kya's ear, making her flinch. "So you are a Marine?" Zoro ignored Sanji, per usual. "I will take Wado Ichimonji from you!"

"Try it if you can."

She moved out of the way as Zoro and the woman clashed swords, grabbing Sanji's arm in the process. "You go first!" Zoro told them, and Luffy nodded in agreement as he helped drag Sanji off. "That moron is thinking about hurting a lady!?" The cook screamed, flailing about. "Sanji! Calm down!" The assassin tugged his arm, calming him down slightly. "Oh Kya-chwan!~ You always know how to make me feel better!" he cooed as the three hit a road block. "Who is standing there?" Luffy asked as they ran closer.

"You have come Luffy." Than man said darkly, turning his dark eyes too Kya. "And you. I'd never thought you'd become a pirate." He noted grimly, smoke pouring from his mouth which held two cigars. She studied him carefully; an open Marine jacket, white hair, dark pants and gloves. "Shit." She murmured, chewing the inside of her lip. "Who are you?!" Luffy shouted at him. "My name is Smoker. I am the major of the Marine Base." From his hands shot clouds of white smoke at the three. "I won't allow you to get out of here!" The smoke encircled Luffy, lifting him off the ground, while Kya and Sanji were able to dodge it. "What is this, you!?" Sanji ran at Smoker as his captain cried for help. "Sanji no!" Kya yelled; knowing exactly what would happen. "You evil!" Sanji shot his leg straight through Smoker's head, which immediately turned to smoke. "Don't mess with me you weakling. White blow!" The chef was sent into the building next to him, causing debris to fly everywhere. "Sanji! You!" Luffy turned to Smoker. "Bullet Punch!" His arm went straight through the Marine's body, just like before.

'_Shit. Shit. I've got to stop this.'_ Kya thought, looking for a way to attack the man. Haki, of course, but he moved around too much for her to hit him; she could hit Luffy. "So your head is worth 30 Million Beli?" Smoker was quickly behind the straw hat boy, grabbing his head and pushing him into the ground. "You are just in bad luck." He pulled his weapon from his back. "Luffy!" Kya ran over to them, but someone hopped down from the building in front of her, grabbing Smoker's weapon. "I don't think so." The cloaked figure said deeply, causing Smoker to gasp. "You!"

She couldn't see his face, but obviously he was someone of importance, but why was he helping Luffy? "The government is looking for you!" Smoker said roughly, and the man chuckled. "The world is waiting for our answer." The cloaked figure chuckled lightly. "Storm!" The wind and rain picked up heavily, knocking the small girl off her feet. "Luffy!" She cried out, making the boy on the ground look at her. "Kya!" He stretched his arm out, wrapping it around her before pulling her back to him.

"Let's go Luffy, Kya! Before they close this island!" Zoro ran up behind them, picking both them up off the ground. "Ah! What's happening?!" Luffy yelled as Kya closed her eyes, the rain beating down on her face. "So this is what Nami-san talked about?!" Sanji cooed, even though the parsimonious navigator was not among them. After running for a few minutes, Zoro eventually dropped them to the ground. "What the hell happened?" He panted. "I don't know! Smoker was about to hurt Luffy, when some cloaked guy showed up! I'm pretty sure he did this!" She cried back at him. "What the hell were you two doing while that Marine had him?!"

"Don't talk to Kya-chwan like that!" Sanji snapped at the swordsman, who gave him a low look. "Look, we need to get back to the ship now. Smoker won't give up this easily." She took off, the boys following after her. "How do you know that smokey guy?" Luffy asked innocently. She sighed, shaking her head. "It's not really that big of a deal, but I'll tell you later."

They reached the Merry in record time, Usopp and Nami were out on the deck waiting for their return. "Luffy!" Usopp cried happily, last seeing the boy in a stock. "We are back Nami-san~!" Sanji swayed from side to side, but he was ignored. "Hurry up! We have to go now!"

The crew worked quickly and efficiently, trying to get away from Loguetown as soon as possible. "Ah! Our ship will sink!" The boat was rocking back and forth violently, though it showed no sign of giving up on them. Everyone stood on the front deck, peering out into the dark as a small light shone through.

"Look at that!"

"A light house?

"That's a guiding light."

"And the end of that light, it's the entrance to Grand Line." Kya stated thoughtfully as the icy wind hit her face. "So?" Nami breathed, brushing her hair back. "Don't any of you feel anything in the middle of a storm!?" Usopp cried, his entire body shaking.

Sanji left for a moment, returning with a large barrel and placed it in the middle of everyone. "Shall we begin the ceremony for entering the Grand Line?" He placed his foot on the edge of the barrel. "I want to find All Blue." He said, smiling lightly. "I want to become the greatest pirate!" Luffy followed, a deranged look on his face. "I want to become an invincible swordsman." Zoro chuckled to himself and Kya placed hers up next. "I want to get my home back." She stated, her face placid. "I want to draw a map of the world." Nami was a bit breathless from the weather, but managed to stand tall as they all waited for Usopp. "I want to become a great warrior of the sea!" He shouted the loudest.

"Let's go to the Grand Line!"

* * *

They hadn't been sailing for long; Nami and Luffy were outside navigating while the rest of the crew was in the kitchen and lounge area. Kya had her head down on the table beside Usopp, her arms wrapped around herself. She wasn't just cold, she was freezing. "What are you doing baka?" Zoro questioned from across the table, his head in his hands. "I'm cold." She said simply, making him snort. "Get a jacket." She sat up and looked at him. "Shut up."

That's when Sanji hit the green haired man on the head with a rolling pin. "Leave my poor Kya-chwan alone!" He fumed, only earning a glare from Zoro. "What was that Ero-cook?!" He nearly shouted, earning a sigh from the sharpshooter and assassin. "Is it going to be this way forever?" Usopp muttered, making Kya frown. "I believe so."

That's when Nami burst through the door, causing Sanji to swoon, and Luffy followed in after her. "I'm thirsty!" The boy whined, sitting across from Usopp. Sanji was gave him a glass of water, which Luffy picked up with his teeth and gulped it. "It seems that the entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain." Nami said simply, slamming her map on the table. "Mountain?!" Usopp cocked his head to the side, his jaw dropped.

"Yes. At first I thought that it's impossible. But look at this. The place the guiding light is pointing to is Loose Mountain on the Red Line." She pointed at the map. "What? Do you mean that we will hit the mountain?!" She sighed and shook her head. "No. It's not like that! Can't you see a canal here?"

"A canal? Don't be stupid. Even though there is a canal there is no way that a ship can go up that mountain." Usopp countered. "But that's what the map says!" She defended. "Yes! Don't you trust Nami-san?" Sanji, of course, sided with her. "You stole that map from Buggy right? Are you sure that it's accurate?" Zoro asked her. "Use a ship to cross a mountain? Sounds interesting! A magic mountain!" Luffy chuckled lightly, causing the navigator to sigh and look at Kya. "You're from the Grand Line right? How do we get there?" Kya looked at the paper lazily, lips pursed. "No idea. That's not how I got to East Blue." She informed casually.

"I want to ask you something. What is the reason of going to the Grand Line by using this as an entrance? If you head south, you can go to the Grand Line right?" Zoro asked, a hand on his head. "That's a bad idea Zoro!" Luffy was quick to his feet, pointing a finger at the swordsman. "Luffy's right. There is a reason for that." Nami agreed, surprisingly.

"We're supposed to go to the Grand Line by using this entrance because it's cool!"

"That's not a reason." She punched him on the back of the head, making the assassin chuckle. "Look! The storm has gone!" Usopp told them. "Ya, the weather is so calm." Sanji added and everyone shuffled their way outside. "That's impossible. If we head towards the storm, we will arrive at the entrance."

"Wow! Nice weather!"

"What happened here?"

Kya looked around them, noticing the placid waters. _'Shit!'_ She looked at the sails, and seeing them unmoving confirmed her suspicions. "Nami!" She shouted loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "We're in the Calm Belt!" The navigator stared at her wide eyed, unable to speak. "Cam belt?" Luffy repeated. "What is that?" Zoro asked lazily. "Ah! Look! There's still a heavy storm out there. But this side is so calm." Usopp said lightly.

"Just shut up and prepare to row! We have to go back to the storm!" Nami shouted angrily at them. "Yes Nami-swan~!" Kya ran over to the side of the ship, looking down at the water. She saw the shadows moving around wildly; they were in trouble. "Why do we have to hurry? You told us to row the ship but this is not a rowboat." Luffy countered stupidly. "Why do we have to go back to the storm?" Usopp whined pitifully. "Just shut up and do it!" Her and Nami yelled at the same time.

"It's nice weather here, why do we have to go back there?" Zoro agreed with the other two idiots. "I am going to explain it to you! Now the ship is going south like you wanted!" Nami screeched at him. "Oh! So we're in Grand Line now?" he asked. "If it was that easy to go there, then there would be many people there!"

"Grand line is surrounded by two seas." Kya explained, watching fearfully as bigger shadows swam by. "And one of the seas is the Calm Belt, the sea without wind." Zoro looked at her, then to the sky. "You're right. There's no wind at all." He noted. "Because this sea is-" Nami didn't get to finish her scream as the boat rocked back and forth violently. "Aah! An earthquake!" Luffy cried. "Don't be stupid! We're in the middle of the ocean!" Usopp yelled at him.

That's when the Merry was lifted into the air on top of a giant Sea King surrounded by at least six others. Kya let out a cry as she fell forward, latching onto the railing so she wouldn't fall. "Kya!" Nami shouted and the boys ran over to her. "I'm fine." She breathed, hoisting herself back onto the main deck. Usopp collapsed right in front of her, behind him Nami hugged the pole and cried. "This sea is the giant Sea Kings' nest!"

Zoro and Luffy quickly grabbed the oars, looking over the side. "When this monster dives, let's begin rowing as fast as we can!" The Sea King they were residing on rocked its head side to side, taking in a deep breath before letting out a loud sneeze. "What is this?!" The Straw Hats were quickly flung into the air, the Merry flying below them. "Hold on tight" Luffy instructed them. Kya reached out and successfully grabbed one of the ropes that tied the main sail. "Oh no, we're doomed." She muttered to herself, watching as a frog-like Sea King noticed them. "Aaah! The giant frog is following us!" Luffy screamed, holding onto the crow's nest. She watched, horrified, as Usopp began to fall into the beast's open mouth. "Usopp is falling!"

"Usopp!" Luffy stretched his arm out, grabbing onto the sharpshooter's nose just before the Merry hit the water in the storm. The force cause Kya to release her grip on the rope and she fell to the main deck on her back. "Ow." She whined, closing her eyes. "We are safe now! We've come back to the storm!" Luffy panted, laid out with his arm on Usopp's back. "Do you understand why we have to use this entrance now?" Nami asked shakingly. "Yes I understand now." Zoro answered, leaning up against the mast.

"I got it!"

Suddenly Nami sat up, smiling to herself. "What?" Kya muttered, cracking her back as she rolled onto her stomach. "We have to go up that mountain!" The navigator said happily. "Are you still on that?" Zoro grumbled. "If the waves from four oceans head up to that mountain, it will create a stream!" Nami said thoughtfully. "That stream will push the water up to the canal, and when the water has reached the mountain's peak, it will push back to the Grand Line. So, the ship can go up the mountain by the stream power. The only problem left is how to control the rudder. Loose Mountain is a huge iceberg. When the stream hits the mountain, the water will cool down. If we can't control our ship to the entrance, we will hit the mountain and sink. Do you understand?"

"So that means it's a magic mountain, right?" Luffy chuckled, his hand under his chin. "It seems that you don't understand it." She sighed heavily. "You're so good Nami-swan~!" Sanji cooed, hearts in his eyes. "It's pretty simple." Kya told her, standing to her feet. "I've never heard of a ship that can climb a mountain." Zoro scoffed at the idea.

"I've heard something about it." Sanji said, exhaling the nicotine smoke. "What? About the magic mountain?" Zoro questioned. "No. I heard the story about Grand Line. They said that it is very tough to even get in there. SO, I realized going to Grand Line isn't an easy job!" Sanji chuckled to himself, nearly making Usopp cry. "Ah, so is it true Kya? Is the Grand Line really that dangerous?" Nami asked.

"Aye. Sea Kings, pirates, Marines, unpredictable weather, anything you can name the Grand Line's got it. Granted I've only been to a few places in it, but they were some helluva trips." Kya frowned at the memories, but brushed them off. "I see the magic mountain! It's very huge!" Luffy suddenly yelled, causing everyone to look out. Through the thick fog and storm, you could a large rock standing miles tall in front of them. "Wait! What is that shadow back there?!" Usopp cried out. "Is that the Red Line?"

"There's a fog surrounding it. We can't see anything." The assassin noted casually, earning a few glares. The Merry lurched forward, revealing a large canal going up the mountain. She ran up to the front deck, staring wide eyed as they were being sucked up the large stream. "Take a deep breath and hold the rudder tight!" Luffy cried out, Usopp and Sanji following his directions. "This is impossible." Nami breathed out. "Am I dreaming?" Zoro muttered, looking through the binoculars. "The stream is going up the mountain." Kya stated, her heart beating. She'd never seen something so crazy!

"It's getting off route now! Turn right! Right!"

While obeying Luffy's orders, Usopp and Sanji somehow managed to snap the rudder in half, sending them straight into one of the wooden poles at the beginning of the canal. She fell to her knees, holding onto the railing tight. _'Shit.'_ She thought, frowning to herself. They couldn't just end before they begin! "We're going to hit the gate!" She cried out in fear, and that's when Luffy ran up next to her. "Rubber…" His hat flew off his head as he jumped in front of the boat. "Balloon!"

The boat hit the wooden pole, Luffy in between the two which sent the Merry back on track. "We're safe!" Nami rejoiced, forgetting that Luffy was about to fall into the water. "Luffy! Take my hand!" Zoro shouted, holding one hand out while the other held onto his captain's hat. Luffy's arm stretched, clasping Zoro's hand tightly as he flew onto the main deck, sending them both to the ground.

Kya laughed to herself as she stood up, leaning on the railing. The rest of the crew ran up there with her, laughing and rejoicing. "We did it!" They all yelled together; Sanji and Usopp were dancing and Nami threw her rain coat off into the wind.

The stream was carrying them, so Sanji and Usopp pulled the sails up while Luffy climbed to his spot on Merry's head. Nami stood next to him, while Kya and Zoro were on his other side as the stream shot them flying into the air. "I can't believe we're flying!" Kya grinned to herself; when would this ever happen to them again?!

"We are going down now!"

"Wow!" Nami gasped as they began to descend, straight into the ocean. "I see Grand Line!" Luffy shouted, leaning to the side with his hand shielding his eyes. "This is the largest sea in the world!" He added. "Let's go!" They all shouted together.

Suddenly, a piercing sound echoed around them. "Did you hear something?" Kya looked around, not seeing any form of life just yet. "Yah, what was it?" Zoro asked boredly. "Don't worry about it! Let's go!" Luffy shouted, pumping his arm forward. "Maybe it's just the wind. I guarantee that we will find a different atmosphere here." Nami concluded, until the sound echoed around them again.

"Nami-san! There is a mountain blocking our way! What's that?!" Sanji shouted from the mast, pointing forward. "A mountain? That's impossible. If we get through this passage there will only be sea." She told everyone as the sound reached their ears again. Kya squinted, looking for a mountain, but what she saw wasn't a mountain, though it was a large enough to be one. "It's not a mountain but a giant whale!" She yelled at everyone as the giant whale cried out again.

"What?!"

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who reads my stories; I love you with my whole entire heart.3 **


	18. Promises

**Chapter 18**

"**Never break a promise to an animal. They're like babies – they won't understand." - Wild Magic, Tamora Pierce**

* * *

"Wait a minute here. As we got closer, it sure looked like a wall. Where are its eyes?!" Sanji yelled out. The Straw Hats were currently heading down Loose Mountain, straight into Grand Line for the first time together. Blocking the entrance to the deadly sea was giant blue whale, crying out to the sky. "Maybe it doesn't know we're here!" Nami suggested, soaking wet from the splashing sea water.

"But we're gonna hit it!" Zoro shouted back at the other man. "We will be safe if we cut through that passage on the left! Someone control the rudder!" He demanded and Usopp stomped his foot angrily. "The rudder is broke!" He shouted loudly. Zoro let out a frustrated growl and jumped over the railing before running to the rudder. "We have to do something! I will help too!"

Kya leaned forward on the railing, her fingers gripping the white wood tightly. "Yes! I've come up with some good ideas!" Luffy suddenly shouted next to her before jumping off. She watched the boy from the corner of her eye as he jumped off the railing. "What are you going to do Luffy?!" Nami yelled at him, but was answered with a slamming door. "This cannot be good." The pink haired girl muttered to the air, staring in horror as the quickly approached the larger than life whale.

Within moments after Luffy's departure, a loud boom echoed around them; the ship slowing pace and the smoke indicated a cannon from below deck was fired. "A cannon….." Everyone aside from Kya was white in the face, their jaw dropping in anger. The assassin fell to her knees and hung her head. "It's going to swallow us whole."

The ship slowly reached the giant sea mammal, and the bow ran into it slowly. The figurehead, or Luffy's special seat, snapped off and hurdled onto the deck. She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping they hadn't been noticed just yet. "This is a nightmare. We're going to die here." Nami muttered from her knees as she leaned against the railing, shaking from anger and fright.

"My special seat!"

Luffy was back on the deck now, clenching his fists in anger. His outburst had caused the whale to open its eyes. _'It sees us now.'_ Kya slowly moved to her butt, trying to crawl away slowly from the bow. They waited a few moments, but the creature did not move. "N-Now let's get out of here!" Zoro shouted and Sanji, Usopp and himself struggled to get the oars, screaming at each other and the whale.

She watched helplessly as it opened its large and dangerous looking mouth to let out a cry. Since the crew was currently next to it, the sound was even more horrid than before. She clasped her hands over her sensitive ears, hoping they could sneak past this giant safely and be on their merry way. When the cried died out, Luffy's heavy footsteps replaced them. She looked up to see the angry captain seething at the whale. "Luffy wai-" He cut her off loudly. "You destroyed my special seat!" His rubber fist was quickly thrusted into the large eye of the even larger whale.

"You idiot!"

She stood to her feet, smacking a palm against her forehead as a pupil the size of their ship moved and looked upon them. "He's looking at us!" She shouted fearfully. Getting swallowed by a large whale wasn't exactly on her to-do list anytime soon. "Come and get a piece of me, you stupid whale!" He got into a fighting position, only to be kicked in the head by a screaming Zoro and Usopp. "Shut up!" He fell forward, just as the whale opened its sharp toothed mouth under them. "Shit!" She held onto the railing for dear life as the captain flew off the deck. "Luffy!" She shouted as the water swirled around them, pushing them deeper and deeper into the whale's body.

Darkness surrounded them momentarily but as the waves died down they were left in an open area, possibly in the whale's stomach. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. The sky was painted on the top around them, the stomach acid sloshing like waves, and a small island with a house was floating idly in front of them. She stood on shaky legs in between Zoro and Usopp; Nami and Sanji were on the long nosed boy's other side.

"What do you think?" The chef puffed out a cloud of smoke from his lips. "What do I think?" Zoro repeated, crossing his arms as they all stared at the island. "Nevermind what you are thinking. Anyways, we were swallowed by a giant whale." Sanji noted idly. "Is this a dream?"

"Yes. Maybe a dream."

"Or maybe we're dead." Kya stated simply. "Don't say things like that so casually!" Usopp shouted at her. "So, what about that house?" Zoro changed the subject. "An illusion, maybe?" She suggested as a giant squid erupted from the stomach juice in front of them. "What about this?" He asked casually as Nami and Usopp jumped to the ground behind them. "A giant squid!"

It swam forward, its tentacles surrounding the Merry. Before it could do any damage, three spears shot through the top of its head and it fell backwards, dead. "Someone's here." Zoro noted, leaning on the railing defensively. Kya jumped up next to him as Sanji spoke. "I hope he's a good man."

"Where's Luffy?" Usopp asked, tears cascading from his eyes like a waterfall. "I want to go home." Nami whined, mimicking Usopp's emotions. The assassin scoffed at them, looking at the house with its doors flung open. The spears had rope attached to them that led all the way back inside the small hut. A silhouette of what looked to be a flower stood in the doorway, and she squinted to try and make the figure out clearly.

"Did the harpoon come from that island?!" Usopp shouted, pointing at said island. "Wait. There's someone coming out of the house." She told him quickly. "A flower?!" Sanji cried, pointing at the person walking out of the house. "A flower?" Zoro repeated, staring intently at the scene. As the 'flower' walked out into the sun, it turned out to be an old man. He was wearing shorts with tasseled hems and a shirt with tassels just above his chest where there were circles going around the fabric. He had a large scar on his left arm, weird petals on his head, and a strange looking beard.

"No. He's human." Sanji said blatantly. "Human?" Usopp scoffed. "That old man is the one who shot the squid?" Nami mumbled from behind them all. "The person who saved us is just a fisherman?" At their voices, the old man's head shot up and stared at them with an intense glaze. Zoro and Sanji made weary noises under his gaze, but Kya kept an angry frown on her lips. The man kept his gaze as he walked over to a chair under a palm tree. He slowly sat down before picking up a newspaper and casually flipping through it.

"Can't you say anything?!" Sanji nearly jumped overboard from anger. "If you want to fight us we aren't scared! We have a cannon!" Usopp shouted, albeit shaking, while pointing at the old man. "Don't even think about it, or someone will die." The old man spoke, his voice gruff and sinister. "Who is going to die old man?" Sanji smirked.

"Me."

"You're pissing me off!" The younger girl had to grab the chef's arm from going to strangle the old man. "Oh, Kya-chwan~. I didn't mean to act so rudely in your presence." He cooed, already calmed down by her touch. "Shut up." Zoro commanded, walking in front of the two. "Who are you and what is this place? Can you tell us?" He continued. "He's insulting me." Sanji murmured as Kya released his arm from her grip and Zoro put a hand in front of the blonde chef.

"Before you ask questions, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" The old man spoke, still glaring at the pirates. "You're right. Sorry." Zoro scratched his head sheepishly before the old man spoke again. "My name is Crocus. I am 71 years old, Pisces sign, AB blood type; I am the caretaker of the Futako Mizaki lighthouse."

"Should I kill him here?!" Zoro reached for his swords but Sanji placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down!" He demanded as Kya chuckled; the old man was quite hilarious with his snide remarks. "You asked me what this place is? You were swallowed by the giant whale and brought to my one man resort! Do you think this is a rat's stomach?" Crocus nearly snorted at the stupidity. "We were really eaten by that giant whale?" Usopp breathed. "What are we going to do? I don't want to be digested!" Nami bantered frantically. "You're not the only one on the ship…" Kya muttered under her breath.

"The exit is over there."

Everyone turned to see where Crocus was pointing. To their left was a giant metal door, oddly placed in the whale's stomach. "You got an exit too?! How can you have an exit in the whale's stomach?!" Usopp shouted fearfully. "There's sky over the door." Nami whispered. "And there are clouds in the sky." He continued.

"It's a picture. A picture in this whale's stomach." Kya noted, looking around. As she spoke, the acid began to slosh around, moving the boat and the small island. "This whale is very playful." Crocus old them, flipping through his paper. "What are you doing in here?" Usopp shouted loudly, and Zoro placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Don't worry about him, let's get out of here." He said, and the sloshing became more violent. She grabbed onto the railing for support. "What the hell is happening?" She nearly shouted.

"It begins?" Crocus asked no one in particular, but looked around skeptically. "Look it's not an island, but a ship made of iron!" Nami pointed at the 'island'. Sure enough, underneath the dirt was an iron body holding it up. "So if we stay here for a long time our ship will be destroyed." She continued fearfully. "Hey! What's beginning?! Tell us!" Usopp shouted over the waves.

"This whale is using its head to ram the Grand Line." Crocus explained sadly. "What?!" Zoro and Sanji clenched their jaws, looking at the man strangely. "That's awful." Kya whispered, looking up at the top of the stomach. Her heart slightly clenched for the creature. "Yes, I saw many scars on his forehead. Besides, he pulled his head up to the sky and cried!" Nami noted. "What's that mean?" Usopp asked quickly. "He must be sad!"

"So what is that old man doing here?!" The sharpshooter looked skeptically at Crocus, who sighed loudly. "He's going to kill that whale from the inside! What a cruel person!" Kya opened her mouth to say something, seeing as it didn't look like Crocus would harm the innocent creature, but Zoro cut her off. "The mystery is solved, so let's get out of here. If we don't hurry we could be digested." He warned. "We aren't whale hunters and we don't have any reason to save this whale. We should get out of here." Sanji, for once, agreed with the swordsman.

That's when the sloshing got progressively worse. Kya held onto the railing for dear life, yet again. "We can't reach the exit!" Zoro shouted over them. "Hurry up! Or else we and Luffy could be in trouble!" She yelled back, her mind wondering off to where that idiot could be. "He must be outside because I saw him go out before we got swallowed." Usopp informed them. A separate splash was heard, and they turned to see Crocus had jumped into the stomach. "Hey! That old man jumped into the water!"

"What is he thinking?" Nami scoffed. "He could be digested." Kya said bluntly. "Stop saying scary things like that!" Usopp nearly shouted in her ear. "Maybe he's heading for the exit. We'd better hurry up before the whale gets mad again." Sanji said before Crocus jumped onto the ladder by the iron exit. "We have to row to get there! Hurry up!" Zoro shouted, but Crocus only opened a latch to a smaller door. And who happened to come out of that door?

Luffy, of course, along with two other people screaming loudly before they hit the stomach acid. "Everyone's safe?" The captain held onto his hat tightly as he looked over the crew. "Luffy?" Zoro and Kya muttered in unison. "Anyways. Save me first!" Were his last words before he hit the water. "Luffy and two strange people…." She trailed off lightly, thinking of all the stupid things her captain could have done. _'He's probably the reason the whale is hitting its head right now.'_ She thought bitterly. "Look! That old man is escaping!" Usopp pointed to Crocus as he ran through the small latch. "Don't worry about him! We must save Luffy first!"

Zoro jumped in after Luffy while Sanji went after the other two people. "Wooh. I thought I was a goner. Thanks Zoro." Luffy chuckled as he sat on the railing. "Don't be stupid." The swordsman replied, knuckling the younger boy's head. As Sanji brought the other two people aboard, a haughtily dressed young man and woman, the splashing simmered down. "The whale has stopped." Nami said out loud before turning to the other two people. "So? Who are you?"

Kya studied them as they began to panic. One woman had vibrant blue hair in a ponytail, a swirly patterned tube top, shorts and boots. The man had blonde hair, a crown, the number 9 painted on his cheeks, and an ugly suit. Sanji currently fawned over the new woman, who was indeed pretty. _'Something about them is off….'_ The assassin crossed her arms and peered down at the two.

"As long as I'm still alive, I won't let anyone touch this whale!"

Everyone turned to see Crocus standing on the ledge by the exit. "Huh? What is that supposed to me?" Luffy asked, blinking at the man. The two new people began to chuckle darkly. "But we are inside the whale now." The man said before they leaned back, pulled out two large bazookas, and shot. "That means we can destroy the stomach and get out of here! You can't stop us anymore!"

Crocus growled before jumping off the ledge. "Hooligan people!" He shouted before throwing himself in front of the artillery. "He uses himself as a shield to protect the wall!" Usopp shouted. "Guess he wasn't the one hurting it like you though, huh?" Kya smirked as the old man landed in the water. "It's worthless!" The woman laughed obnoxiously. "No matter what happens, this whale must be the food for our town!" The man shouted alongside her.

"Why that old man…?"

"What's happening here?"

That's when Luffy walked up behind the two idiots, punching them both on the back of the head. "Anyway, let's take care of them first!" He breathed heavily from his nose; his anger rising. They helped Crocus onto the boat after tying the two idiots up and sailed over to his 'island'. He sat down in his chair with a thud, the two idiots laying near his feet, while the others scattered around him. Kya stood on his left, her arms folded as she watched Luffy attempt to climb the palm tree.

"This is an island whale from West Blue. It is the largest species of whale in this world. His name is Laboon." Crocus explained. "And these people are hooligans." She snickered lightly. "They come from the town close to here. They are thinking of killing Laboon for his meat; which can save them for up to 2-3 years. But I won't let them do that. There is a reason why he uses his head to hit the Red Line and cries. One day while I was taking care of the lighthouse, a group of pirates came to Loose Mountain with a little whale. It seems that those pirates always played with Laboon while they were at West Blue but they realized that it would be a very dangerous journey, so they decided to leave Laboon here. Island whales usually stay alone without a friend or anyone, but for Laboon, those pirates were his friends. Because their ship was broken, they stayed at that town, Mizaki, for 2-3 months. I was very close to them. When they decided to leave, they asked me to take care of Laboon for 2 or 3 years. They told me that they would travel around the world and come back here. Laboon has always understood this and waits for his friends return."

"That's why he's crying for them and hitting his head against Red Line, so he can get to the other side." Nami said quietly, astonished by this story. "That's right. It's been 50 years now. He still believes his friends are alive." Everyone stood silent for a moment, taking in the story. "That's so sad." Luffy muttered, before falling out of the tree and on his face. _'Only he could ruin a sad story.'_ Kya chuckled and shook her head. "Let's get you kids out of here."

The crew, along with the hooligans, piled onto the ship while Crocus casually floated alongside them on his island after opening the door. Kya stood in the crow's nest as they floated down a built in canal. "This water way is very cool! He has a big hole inside his body, but he's still alive. Isn't this because he's playful?" Luffy asked from his now broken seat. "It's just my funny idea, but I am a doctor. When I used to stay at Mizaki, I worked on a ship for 2 or 3 years." Crocus explained. The doctor thing caught everyone off guard. "A doctor?! Can you become our doctor then?!"

He snorted as he climbed up to open another door that led outside. "Don't be stupid. I'm not as strong as I used to be." He said as he began to turn the crank. "You are a doctor, so you are giving this whale treatments from inside his body, right?" Nami asked as she leaned over the railing. "Yes. He's getting too big for outside treatments now. Here, I'll open the door for you."

"Ha! I see the real sky!" Luffy stood and raised his fists as the clear blue sky enveloped them along with the smell of saltwater. "What are we going to do with these two?" Kya shouted, pointing at the hooligans. "Just throw them out somewhere around here." Zoro instructed. With a small heave, the two were casted into the sea, still slightly dazed. They began yelling at each other until Luffy leaned over the railing and asked, "So who are you?"

"It's none of your business!"

"Wait, Ms. Wednesday. Even though it's none of his business, we still have some relationship with pirates." The gaudy man spoke with his hands in a weird position. "That's right Mr. Nine! It really involves our company. You'd better be prepared!" The woman laughed annoyingly. "We will see you again you countryside pirates!" "Crocus! One day we will take that whale for sure!" The two swam off quickly.

"Her name is Ms. Wednesday? Wow! What a mysterious girl she is." Sanji swooned over the railing. "Ms. Wednesday? Mr. Nine?" Kya repeated, their names sounding familiar to her. She shook her head, thinking nothing of it as Luffy's voice reached her ears. "Whose is this?" He asked, holding something in his hands. _'A Log Pose? Those idiots must have left it.'_ She thought, letting out a strangled sigh before climbing down the mast. Crocus led them to a ladder which took them to the top of the large rock where the lighthouse was.

The old man brought them some drinks and Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, and herself sat around the table. Luffy sat on a rock a few feet away from them as Nami went to talk with Crocus. "But it's been 50 years. He still believes that his friends will return?" Usopp asked sadly as Sanji moved to sit on the table next to him. Kya shrugged and took a sip of her drink while Zoro said nothing from his seat beside her. "Those pirates made this whale wait for a very long time." Luffy said childishly. "Idiot! Do you remember that this is the Grand Line? They said that they'll come back in 2-3 years, but it's already been 50 years. He should know the answer." Sanji smoked his cigarette as he spoke. "They're already dead! No matter how long he waits for them, they will never come back."

"Why are you saying something like that?! Who knows? Maybe they are coming back." Usopp stood and slammed his fist on the table. It's a beautiful thing that this whale is still keeping his promise!" She snorted at his childish thoughts. "But the trust is more cruel than the dream." Crocus said, looking at the sky from his stump. "They are already gone, I have checked. They've already left from Grand Line." He explained to the sharpshooter. "What? What did you say?!"

"So this whale was abandoned? But if they are going to escape from here, they have to go through the Calm Belt!" Nami nearly shouted. "That's right. I do not know if they are still alive or dead. Even if they were still alive, they will never come back. No one wants to stay in this catastrophic atmosphere." He explained. Kya sighed and closed her eyes. "If you are not strong enough, you cannot survive this sea. Once you've experienced the fear of Grand Line, you will become weak." She said emotionlessly.

"This means that they weren't strong enough and feared death, so they decided to leave this place without thinking of the promise." Sanji concluded. "This whale has been abandoned even though he believed in them for 50 years! This is too cruel!" Usopp shouted angrily. "Since you already know the truth, why don't you tell him? This whale can understand the human language, right?" Nami was shaking with anger now.

"I've already told him everything, but Laboon didn't listen." Crocus closed his eyes, recalling the day he told the poor whale. "Since that day….Laboon always faces the Loose Mountain and cries. He hits his head against the Red Line to destroy as a sign that they'll come back. I've talked with Laboon many times, but he still doesn't admit the truth."

"What a whale! Even though he knows he's been betrayed, he still waits." Sanji commented. "Even though it's worthless to wait." Usopp added sadly. "Yes because he will have nothing left if he let down that promise. That's why he doesn't want to listen to me. He's afraid of losing meaning of waiting." Crocus said. "Laboon's hometown is in West Blue, on the other side of Red Line. That means he can't go back there anymore. Those people are his only hope and his everything."

Kya opened her eyes finally, frowning. Though she didn't like the fact the poor creature's promise was broken, it couldn't be helped. The Grand Line is too dangerous to promise something like that. "He is surely sad, but you were betrayed too. Why do you still get involved with him?" Sanji asked. "Look at those scars on his forehead. If he continues hitting his head, he will die. I've been with him for 50 years; he's become part of my life. I can't let him die." Crocus answered before a loud screaming sound interrupted their conversation.

Everyone looked to see Luffy climbing on top of Laboon with the Merry's mast in his hands. "What is that morn doing?" Kya muttered, placing a hand on her face. "Maybe he wants to hike the whale." Zoro suggested, sighing heavily. "We can't let him out of our sight." Sanji cursed, still smoking his cigarette. "I've arrived at your forehead! Your new scar must be over there!" Luffy shouted as he reached the top of the whale's head. "Rubber…."

Everyone watched, unable to do anything, as the boy drove the mast into the creatures head. "Flower Arrangement!" He screamed as blood spouted everywhere. "Isn't that a ship's mast?" Zoro asked, blinking. "From our ship?" Sanji concluded. "Absolutely right!" Usopp crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. It took the whale longer than usual to realize that it was in pain before it cried out its terrible cry and shook its head back and forth. Kya slammed her head on the table. "Kill me now." She groaned.

"What the hell is that moron doing?!"

"He broke our ship's mast!"

Luffy's began to yell, holding onto the mast for dear life as Laboon inched closer to them. Kya slowly lifted her head, glaring at the scene before her. She was going to kill the boy, then bring him back to life and kill him again. "He's coming this way!" Sanji yelled out. "He's going to hit the floor!"

Sure enough, the whale head butted the cliff with a loud splat. "That..That kid!" Crocus attempted to go after their captain, but Nami held him back. "It's dangerous mister! Don't worry about him, he won't die!" She shouted, but the man was probably more worried about the whale. Laboon let out a mixture of angry and painful cries, swaying back and forth until Luffy punched him clear in the eye again.

"What is he thinking?" Kya growled, finally standing to her feet. Just as she did so, Laboon through Luffy off his head, narrowly missing her. Instead he was flung into the side of the lighthouse. "Luffy! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Zoro shouted, but the younger man only chuckled. "We are even now!" He shouted, making the whale stop it's crying. "I am very good, right?"

Everyone's frown faded, replaced with a greater amount of shock. "But we still don't know the result of this fight, so we have to fight again in the future. Your friends already died, but I am still alive. We will travel around Grand Line, and we will come back to see you again. Let's fight again next time!" Tears were pouring down Laboon's large face now as he stared at Luffy in shock. Everyone else smiled to themselves, shaking their heads at the captain's ways.

Eventually everyone went back to what they were doing before, except Luffy really. He decided painting his 'symbol' on the top of Laboon's head was an even greater idea. "This is the sign of promise between you and me!" He said, staring at his ugly and lopsided drawing. Kya chuckled at the boy as he held the giant brush in his hands. She ventured off to the side of the cliff away from everyone, sitting on the edge.

"Kyyyyaaaaaaaaa."

She turned to see Luffy waddling up to her; his body covered in paint and scratches. "Yes, Luffy?" She asked lightly. He plopped down next to her and chuckled. "We're in the Grand Line." He grinned at her and jousted his arms in the air. She smiled and turned back out to sea. "Just you wait Luff; this is only the beginning." She told him and placed a hand on top of his hat. "Oh…I forgot to ask! How'd you know that Smokey guy?"

She shook her head. "When I first got to East Blue, I was traveling around with someone and we happened to run into him a few times. He's attempted to capture me a few times but never prevailed. He's not that bad of a guy, considering he is a Marine." Luffy was about to answer when a piercing scream echoed around them.

The two of them quickly ran back to the main area. Everyone was standing around a terrified Nami, aside from Zoro. "What's wrong with you? Why do you have to scream?" Luffy asked nonchalantly. "The compass is broken! It never stops spinning!" She shouted, horrified. Kya bit the inside of her cheek guiltily. They all maneuvered to the table where Sanji had placed food and Luffy dug right in.

"It seems that you don't know anything about this place! I am really tired of you. Do you want to waste your life here?" Crocus shook his head as Sanji scolded Luffy for eating too fast. "I told you that you cannot use common sense here. Your compass is not breaking." He continued. Kya munched on an apple, hoping the fiery red-head would not blame her for all of this. "Isn't it a magnetic field?" Nami asked.

"Yes, every island is the main source of many elements on the Grand Line and it is creating a huge magnetic field that covers every inch of this place. Besides the currents and the weather here are unpredictable. If you are a true navigator, you should know about the danger of this place. If you go out there without any knowledge, you will die." He casually grabbed a plate of food and began eating. Her body was rigid and an angry aura arose from her. Kya froze and closed her eyes; praying to whatever deity was out there, that they would not let her be in the wake of Nami's wrath.

"Kya."

'_Shit.'_ The pink haired girl opened an eye to look at Nami. The navigator's mouth was twitching into an evil smile, her face darkened by shadows. "Why didn't you say anything before?!" She shouted; she almost looked like a shark in Kya's eyes. "I thought you knew." The assassin merely shrugged before taking a bite of her apple. Nami was steaming as she banged her fists on the table. "How do we solve this problem!?"

"Hey! This is bad! How do we survive?!" Usopp shouted over at the two women. "Even though you don't know, you're still beautiful Nami-swan." Sanji cooed. "What is bad?" Luffy was still as oblivious as ever. "Can you shut up?!" Nami shouted before sighing to herself. "If you want to travel around Grand Line, you must have a Log Pose." Kya explained to them. "A Log Pose? I've never heard of it."

"It's a very special kind of compass." Crocus tried explaining, but Luffy interrupted. "You mean a strange compass?" He asked. "Its shape is different from a regular compass."

"Does it look like this?" Luffy held out a spherical shaped compass on a bracelet in the palm of his hand and shoved meat in his mouth. "Yes." Crocus and Kya said at the same time. "Without a Log Pose you can't travel Grand Line. But it's very difficult to find one outside of the Grand Line." He continued suspiciously as Nami stood up. "Okay. Okay. But wait a minute here." She laughed nervously before punching the rubber boy square in the jaw. "How can you get something like this?!"

"Those mystery people left it on our ship." Luffy grumbled as he fixed his hat. "Them?" Nami tied the idiosyncratic looking object on her wrist. "Why did you punch me then?" He whined. "I just teased you." She answered. "Teased me?"

"This is a Log Pose, but there are no letters on it?" She changed the subject. "Each island in the Grand Line has a unique magnetic field. We have to save this magnetic field that attracts other island in the Log Pose. Then we use it to guide us to the next destination." Crocus explained. "In the middle of nowhere, the magnetic field that we collect in the Log Pose is the only thing we can trust." Kya continued for him. "First, we have to choose one of seven magnetic fields from this island. No matter where you begin you will end up in the single direction to the last island. That island is Raftel, which is the final destination of Grand Line. According to history, the only group to ever arrive there was Gol D. Roger and his crew. It is a legendary island."

"So One Piece must be on that island!" Usopp shouted. "Well, that's the greatest saga and no one has ever accomplished it." Crocus said, staring out to sea. "That's not a problem. If we try." Luffy chuckled as he munched on a fishbone. "Shall we go now?" He asked as he swallowed the whole thing and more. "I am full."

"You ate the whole thing?!" Sanji yelled, his cigarette almost dropping from his mouth. "He even ate the fishbone!" Usopp added, staring wide eyed. Kya watched with amusement as she set down her half eaten apple. "Log Pose. I have to carefully take care of it because it is everything for our journey." Nami mused as she stared at the new device.

"Damnit! You ate the food that I had prepared for Nami-san! And you ate the whole thing!"

Sanji's foot collided with Luffy's face, sending him flying past Nami. The sound of glass breaking made Kya's face pale. She turned her head to see Nami staring blankly at the broken Log Pose on her wrist. Slowly the navigator stood to her feet and marched over to the two boys. "Why don't you both just go and calm down in the sea!" She shouted as she kicked them both into the air. _'Hopefully Sanji grabs Luffy. He is a hammer.'_ Kya sighed and shook her head.

"Hey! Isn't that the most important thing to us?!" Usopp screamed. "What are we going to do Crocus-san?! The Log Pose is broken!" Nami said frantically. "Calm down. I am thinking about giving you a new one as appreciation for the things you've done for Laboon." The older man said before leaving into the lighthouse.

After Nami calmed down a little, Sanji and Luffy returned along with those two fools from earlier. "What do they want?" Kya grumbled as she stood to her feet. Luffy skipped over and sat on the table next to her and Sanji stood behind them. The two newcomers sank to their knees in front of everyone and Nami kneeled next to the haughty looking man. "Please take us to Whiskey Peak." The blue haired woman said (Ms. Wednesday?).

"Whiskey Peak? What is that?" Kya questioned, still unsure about those weird names. "It's the name of our town." The man answered. "You don't have a ship, so you want us to take you there?" Sanji scoffed as a cloud of smoke spilled from his lips. "Don't you think it's too easy, Mr. 9, you were thinking about killing that whale weren't you?" Nami asked slyly. "Tell us, who are you?" Usopp intervened.

"I am the king!" Mr. 9 proclaimed and she pulled his cheek. "Don't lie!" She scolded before the two aberrant people bowed to them. "We can't tell you about that!" Ms. Wednesday exclaimed. "But we really want to go back to our town! We will repay you if you help us!" Mr. 9 finished for her.

"Actually we don't want to do this job, but our company has to keep our secret as our lives. We can't say anything. Everything is up to your kindness now." Ms. Wednesday continued to plead. "Stop pretending! No matter what they say, they are not good people." Crocus grumbled with his arms across his chest. "But I broke your Log Pose." Nami guiltily hung the broken compass-like object in her hand. "So do you still want to go with us?"

"What?! You broke it?! But that was mine!"

"This is too much now! But you can't go anyway, either!"

"Oh! I forgot. Crocus-san gave me a new one." Nami laughed lightly to herself as the two bowed down to her again. "Please. Our lives depend on your beneficent." The both said together. "You can come with us." Luffy decided. "Oh thank you!" Mr. 9 cried out before he and Ms. Wednesday hugged. "Well, let's go." The captain declared before walking over to the later.

As they began to leave, Crocus placed a hand on Kya's shoulder before she climbed abroad the Merry. "You're from the Grand Line, am I correct?" He asked, his face emotionless. She nodded. "Yes. Though I haven't been here in years." She informed him. "Not much has changed; just more pirates and Marines. But I am going to entrust their safety for the first part of the journey with you." He removed his hand from her shoulder. "I will take care of my nakama." She said to him before climbing aboard.

The Merry had been granted a few items, a fixed mast and two new passengers. Zoro was asleep against the railing, and she couldn't believe he'd been here this whole time. "Is the Log Pose pointing in the right direction?" Crocus asked Nami, who held a map in her hand. Kya hadn't noticed it before, but Nami had a gold bracelet on her left wrist now. _'Must have been from her hometown.'_

"Yes. It's pointing towards Whiskey Peak." The navigator answered before climbing onto the main deck. "Are you sure you want to choose Whiskey Peak for these people, kids? Only you can choose your destination from here." He warned them from the rocks below. "If we don't like it, we can come back." Luffy answered. Kya sighed and hung her head as Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 snickered to themselves. "Really…" Crocus held back a small chuckle.

"We are going now Mr. Flower!" Luffy said after everything was put away. "Thank you for the Log Pose." Nami smiled as she leaned over the railing. "Take care." Kya gave a small wave. "See you again." Crocus said, a grim look on his face as the Straw Hats sailed off into the Grand Line. Laboon swam up to the top of the water.

"I am going now whale! I'll be back!" Luffy shouted and Laboon answered back with a cry. Luffy waved frantically until the large whale and the coast was out of sight. "We'll be back someday, right?" He turned to Kya and asked. She smiled lightly. "I hope so."

* * *

**I'm sorry about being so late. Life has not been kind to me lately and things are pretty tough. I'll update as often as I can but please be patient with me. I'm trying the best I can. **


	19. Welcome!

**Chapter 19**

"**Deceiving others. That is what the world calls romance."- Oscar Wilde**

* * *

"Pay attention to the Log Pose at all times."

"Got it."

"And focus on the weather."

"Okay."

"And the tides."

"…."

"And the wind patterns."

"Okay!"

Nami growled in frustration as she sat down at the kitchen table. Kya was currently explaining to her all the important things to pay attention to whilst in the Grand Line. The assassin decided to sport a black sleeveless vest that stopped before her naval and dark jeans. Her boots were a sleek black that ended just above her knee and her weapons were where they had always been. "I'm just trying to save your lives." She told the navigator before walking outside.

It was sunny outside, and the breeze blew nicely. "Hopefully we aren't close to the Calm Belt." She breathed as Sanji swayed over to her. "By dearest Kya-chan~. Would you li-" A loud snore cut him off, and the cook glared at Zoro, who was still asleep against the railing. "That bastard. I'll kill him." He growled as he began to stomp over to the sleeping swordsman before Kya placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Sanji, I'm perfectly fine." She gave him a small smile, causing him to swoon and run inside to Nami.

Just as the door clicked shut, snow began to fall from the sky. "Dammit." She cursed to herself and headed for the bedroom. She pulled on a white parka, gold scarf and gold gloves. "I hate the cold." She muttered, venturing outside to the others. Luffy and Usopp were running around playing in the fallen snow while Sanji was shovel, whistling a tune to himself. Zoro was somehow still asleep against the railing, covered in snow.

Just as she closed the door to the bedroom, lightning cracked across the sky before thunder boomed around them. _'This weather is strange, even for the Grand Line.'_ She pursed her lips. "Oi! Kya! Come play with us!" Luffy laughed as he chucked a snowball at Usopp. She snorted and shook her head. "No thanks."

A piercing scream erupted from the kitchen door and everyone looked to see Nami, staring at the Log Pose in horror. "What happened?" Usopp asked, blinking awkwardly. "What's wrong Nami-san?" Sanji attempted to be chivalrous, but it failed as always.

"This must be a joke! Let's turn back 180 degrees!"

Kya froze, unable to swallow the lump in her throat. "180 degrees?! Why do we have to turn back?" Usopp shouted. "You forgot something?' Luffy asked dumbly. "No. But I don't know when our ship was heading towards the wrong direction. I just didn't look at the Log Pose for a while and the waves are calm!" The navigator answered back. "I told you to watch it at all times!" Kya nearly screamed. Nami grabbed a fistful of her own hair before stomping back into the kitchen.

"What's so bad about this?" Luffy turned to the assassin. "We've turned around completely! We're way off course!" She growled and looked out at sea. "I told her to watch everything! She's the navigator!" The skies cleared up slightly, letting sunlight protrude through the clouds. That's when the two idiots from earlier, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday, were kicked out of the kitchen and onto the main deck. "She's a real witch." The blue haired woman muttered, wiping the snow off her pants.

"Turn back 180 degrees and wait for the wind from the right! Usopp can you go take a look out back?" Nami leaned over the railing and peered down at the others. "Yes!" The long nosed boy answered. "Sanji, you control the rudder." "Yes, Nami-swan!"

"Kya, go to the crow's nest, tie the sails if necessary." The orange haired woman looked at her wits end. Kya nodded, slipping her extra garments off as she climbed up the mast. "Hopefully we don't hit a cyclone…" She muttered as she reached the crow's nest.

"Wait! The wind is changing!"

Sure enough, the snow had finally stopped and a spring-like feeling rushed over the crew. "Hurry and change the course!" She yelled down at the others. "Zoro! Wake up! We are in an emergency situation now!" Usopp tried to wake the swordsman, but all attempts failed miserably. The sea became rougher, sending waves crashing onto the Merry. "The waves are getting stronger!" Usopp yelled. "Nami-san! Fog!"

Kya could barely see, but she could make out a large figure to her left. "And an iceberg at 7 o'clock!" She warned as they were thrashed around. She held onto the mast tightly as the ship was thrusted into the ice death-trap. The winds picked up heavily and she could see the sails beginning to tear.

"We hit an iceberg!"

"The ship is leaking!"

"Hurry up and fix it!"

Everything was happening so fast, she could barely keep up. "Kya! Get the sails!" Nami shouted over the roaring waves. "I'm trying!" The pink haired girl climbed out of the crow's nest and held on tightly to the wooden beams. She reached for the halyard, but the wind blew the rope away from her. "The wind is getting too strong!"

Not long after she said this statement, the sails tore with a rip sound. She wrapped the rope around her wrist tightly as wooden shards flew at her, cutting her right arm. "Dammit!" She seethed as everyone scrambled around below her. It was too late to close the sails, so she held onto the beam until they reached calmer waters.

Once the chaos had died down, she swung to the deck with the halyard, falling to her knees. Her right arm was cut up and bruised; blood spilling down her arm. It didn't hurt, no, just stung a little. Sanji collapsed on his back next to her. "Are you alright….my Kya-chwan?" He panted and she gave him a curt nod.

A loud yawn gained her attention, and she watch with a keen eye as the swordsman finally awoke. "That was a good sleep!" He smiled and stretched as he stood; giving a surprised look to everyone on the ground. "Hey, even though it's good weather, it's not good to have everyone sleeping!" Zoro scoffed before turning to Nami. "I hope that you are not lost."

Kya stumbled to her feet, rubbing her forehead angrily. "What are you doing here?" He asked suddenly, glaring at Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday. Mr. 9 let out a weird cry while Ms. Wednesday just whimpered. "We are heading to their town." Luffy chuckled from the upper deck. "Don't tell em that you're gonna take them there. We don't have any reason to do that."

"That's right. No reason."

Zoro gave his captain a strange look before sitting down in front of the two tag-alongs. "You must be thinking about bad things now. What're your names?" he smirked devilishly. "M-Mr. 9." The flamboyant man's lips twitched. "I'm Ms. Wednesday."

"Your names remind me of something. It seems I've heard them from somewhere, haven't I?" Zoro chuckled lowly to himself, oblivious to the fact Nami was marching her way up to him. Kya grabbed her bloody arm and backed away; she didn't want to be involved in this. "But never mind about that-" He never got to finish his sentence, as Nami punched him on the back of the head. "You were having too good a sleep. We've been trying to wake you up for a long time." She glowered. "Huh?" He sent a glare her way, but she hit him even harder.

"Everyone mustn't be sure about anything because we won't know what's going to happen next! Now I know why they call this place the Grand Line. And I also learned a scary thing about this place: my navigation techniques are useless here." She seemed proud of this fact. "Can we survive?" Usopp asked worriedly. "Sure! We must have survived. The first evidence is over there, look! We have completed our firs journey."

"An island with giant cacti!" Luffy marveled, which wasn't surprising. The small island was covered in cacti twenty times its own size, which was incredulous. "This Whiskey Peak! That's great! We survived safely!" He sat on his special seat and laughed in the wind. "We have to go now, thank you for taking us here." Mr. 9 and MS. Wednesday jumped onto the railing in a strange, crouched over pose. "We shall meet again if we are destined to." She laughed.

"Bye, bye, baby!"

Then, they jumped into the sea and swam to shore. "They're gone…who are they?" Usopp muttered. "Don't worry about that." Kya waved them off casually as Luffy jumped up and down excitedly. "Let's go to port!" He exclaimed. "There is a river, so we can get to port there." Nami explained. "Are there any ghosts or monsters here?" Usopp suddenly asked, shaking in his shoes. "It's possible. This is the Grand Line." Sanji answered. "We can go to another island then."

"Don't forget, we have to spend some time on this island." Nami told them. "Why?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. "If my Log Pose can't memorize this island's magnetic field, then we can't go to the next one." She explained. "The time it takes for the Log Pose to record data is different on each island. Some places take 2-3 hours, 2-3 days, or maybe even 2-3 months." Kya finished for her, removing her hand from her hurt arm. The blood had finally clotted, and didn't hurt at all anymore.

"You mean that even though this is a monster island or we want to get out of here as soon as we can, we have to stay here?" Usopp asked again. "That's right." Nami nodded and crossed her arms. "Let's not worry about that. Let's go." Luffy gave his signature laugh. "We must be crazy if we don't go in there!"

"Maybe that's only right for you." Nami muttered. "As Luffy said, let's go and don't worry about it." Zoro stated simply. "We can take anything they throw at us." Kya smirked lightly. "I will protect you Nami-swan! Kya-chwan!" Sanji cooed. "Hey everyone! Listen to me! I don't want to go in there!"

"Let's go then!-"

"Are you sure?"

"-Listen up! Everyone must be prepared to run and fight!"

Murmurs could be heard through the fog, but no one was seen. "Human noises? It's so foggy I can't see anything." Sanji muttered as he smoked his cigarette. Kya placed a hand lightly on her dagger. She wouldn't take any chances. "Human? There are humans here?!"

As the Merry and her crew made it to an opening, they were welcomed with clearing fog and cheering people. The townsfolk chanted for the pirates over and over happily. There was fireworks, dancing, singing, laughing, anything you could imagine! "I thought there would be monsters, but instead there is a warm welcome?" Usopp asked more than stated. "What's going on here?"

Kya frowned as she looked around. Two people with codenames asked to be dropped off at a city that welcomes pirates? Something wasn't right. She knew those idiots from somewhere; had her father told her? Maybe it was some old tale? She let out a breath. Maybe Zoro knew, since he seemed to recognize those other people.

"There's a lot of cute girls here." Sanji swooned, hearts in his eyes. "I'm so happy! It seems that pirates are the heroes of this town!" Usopp cried blowing kisses to the air. The stopped at the nearest dock; quickly jumping off to the ground to be met with a large and awkward man. His hair was a pale blonde with three large curls on the side of his head. His face was flat and monkey-like and he held a saxophone in his hand.

"Welcome! My name is Igaram. This Whiskey Peak, the town of music and liquor. It's our honor to welcome you!" The large man spread his arms. "We have a lot of liquor here. Please tell us about your journey! If you don't mind, I would like to ask you to join our party."

"Sure!" Sanji, Luffy and Usopp both marched forward, disappearing into the large crowd. _'Idiots.'_ Kya thought and placed her good hand on her hip. Nami sighed and walked over to Igaram. "How long will it take to record the magnetic field on this island?" She asked, pointing to the Log Pose. "Record? We shall talk about that after you've been rested." He laughed and placed his arm around the small woman. "Let's party everyone! Let's begin the music to welcome these brave warriors!"

Kya snorted; she and Zoro had been left behind momentarily as the others began their festivities. "Well, looks like it's just us." He said, scoping out the area. "Ya. I think I know what's going on though." She looked up at him as he smiled. "Me too."

"My beautiful…"

The two of them looked to see a ridiculously handsome man swaggering his way over. "You look like an angel that fell from the high heavens and landed in the clouds." He said in a velvet voice before bowing slightly. She raised an eyebrow. The guy was worse than Sanji could ever try to be. "Mi amor, let me dress your wounds. I am also a doctor." She shot a look at Zoro, who was staring at the scene weirdly. "I can handle it myself…." She muttered, but the man only grabbed her hand tightly. "Nonsense! A lovely lady like you should not have to deal with those wounds by herself!"

"Look. I said-"

"Let's go to my place."

His grip on her hand was incredibly strong, and she tried to pull away. "Look, I don't want to cause trouble but if you don't let go off my hand…." She trailed off as Zoro walked up next to them. "And who are you?" The man sneered. "The first mate. If someone is injured, it's my fault. My responsibility is to watch over the crew."

She ripped her hand from the man's grasp, holding it to her chest. The man frowned at Zoro, who simply shoved his hands in his pockets. "Very well then. I guess I'll see you around, my love." The man nodded his head before disappearing into the crowd. "I think I'm just going to stay on the ship…" She muttered, completely confused by this awkward moment. "Ah, okay."

Night had fallen, and the festivities were still going on. Zoro had managed to drag Kya back out to town (he probably just didn't want to get lost) and she sat in the corner of the bar they crew was in. Usopp was telling stories to people, Sanji was swooning girls, Zoro and Nami were drinking heavily, and Luffy was eating everything the chefs threw at him. Kya smiled lightly to herself, sipping her drink and pulling at her bandages. She was glad everyone was having a good time; she was just waiting for the surprise attack.

"I am so happy everyone is enjoying themselves! This is a very good time!" Igaram laughed and clapped. He muttered something to himself, making Kya narrow her eyes at the man. She took a sip of the alcoholic beverage as the man from earlier blocked her view. "So, we meet again." He said smoothly. She raised an eyebrow and snorted. "It seems so."

"Now that the swordsman is gone, how about you and I go somewhere?" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. She bit her cheek, contemplating the idea. It sounded fun, but there were so many things that could go wrong. "I have to watch after my idiotic crew." She motioned towards them just as Zoro slumped over the table. "I can't go on…."

"Hey! He gets knocked down at the 13th person!"

"Now a girl must compete with the 16th, sister!"

Nami was chugging her drink along with a nun. _'They blew their cover, making nuns swoon and drink.'_ Kya sighed to herself as the navigator cackled. "You will be ashamed if you get knocked out." She said loudly. "You'd better stop for your health, too!" The nun scolded, obviously drunk.

"I am so full, I can't even eat anymore." Luffy breathed out heavily, falling onto the ground. His body had expanded at least three times his original size from all the food he ate. Nami laughed hysterically, banging her hands on the table as the chefs passed out from exhaustion. "Your crew sure is…different." The man deadpanned, looking at the passed out crew members. "I know. That's why they're pretty tough." Kya smiled at him, chugging the last half of her drink. "Pretty tough you say?" He challenged, leaning on the wall next to her. She nodded as Nami finally passed out on the table. "They don't seem like it now, but they're some of the strongest people I know."

About an hour later, the whole crew was passed out in the little bar. Kya was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed as she pretended to sleep. She heard muffled voices coming from outside as the townspeople shuffled their way out of the building. Something tugged on her arm, and she looked to see Zoro with a frown on his face. "Let's go."

He pulled her out the back door, forcing her up to the roof. "You didn't have to push me." She grumbled, brushing herself off. He ignored her, pointing at the group of people on the ground. The two idiots, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday were on the ground along with that man, Igaram. Another woman was with them; large build, dark skin, feminine face. "Is that the nun from earlier?" Kya questioned out loud.

"Hurry up and get their treasure off of the ship, then tie them up! If we kill them we will get 30% less. The government wants them alive in order to execute them in front of people." Igaram explained as Zoro unsheathed his swords and sat on the edge of the building. "Sorry but I don't think they'll let you do that, even though they were tired from the journey." She frowned at him and stood on his other side.

"Two of them are missing!" A few people came running out of the building. "Aren't they sleeping?!" Igaram looked fairly scared. "A real swordsman will not fall for a trick like that!" Zoro exclaimed boastfully. More townspeople emerged, holding various types of weapons. "So this is the truth? This is the place for pirate hunters who are waiting for pirates that are just coming into the Grand Line." Kya scoffed as Zoro stood to his feet. "100 hunters? I guess we'll be your challengers for tonight, Baroque Works." He smirked as the others' mouths dropped. "How did you know our company's name?!" They shouted.

"When I was a hunter, your company sent an agent to ask me to join you, but I rejected it. Every employee's past is a secret, and everyone will call each other by code names." He continued, his arm outstretched with his sword. "And no one will know who the boss is and where he lives. You are a group of mercenaries that follow an order without question. You call yourselves Baroque Works. Is this a secret?" Kya's face was stoic as she stared down Igaram, who seemed to be the main contributor. "That's very surprising that you know our secret. We can't let you live now! We will add two more gravestones to the cactus mountain!" Igaram shouted, looking at the mountains. The two pirates took this time to jump off the roof.

"Stay here." Zoro told her, pushing her into an alley way. She snorted, but complied. "Kill them!" Igaram shouted before everyone gasped. "Where'd they go?!" Someone shouted loudly. "So, shall we begin?" She heard Zoro's voice before cries of pain echoed around them. "He's such an idiot sometimes." She grumbled and stepped out into the opening. "Killer Saxophone!" She watched as Igaram used his saxophone to shot bullets and hit several of the hunters.

"There's the girl!"

She snapped her head to the side as ten people ran after her, shouting and flailing their weapons around. "Tch. So unprofessional." She muttered. "Soru." The hunters gasped as she disappeared and reappeared above them. She swung her leg into the ground, causing it to shatter in a circle and send the others flying. She barely had time to dodge the incoming bullets. "Mah, mah. So impatient." She tsked, jumping behind the next crowd of people. "Rankyaku." She flipped on her hands and spun around, sending the pressured air into the people.

"Diamond Punch!"

She blinked as the flirtatious man from earlier came charging at her, his arm completely encrusted with diamonds. "Shit. Tekkai." She crossed her arms in front of her as they impacted, sending her flying into the building. She tumbled backwards inside, dodging more oncoming bullets. "What the hell?" Someone growled. She looked up with one eye to see Zoro hiding behind a table and glaring at her. "What are you doing?!" He nearly shouted. She frowned and got up to a squat. "That guy from earlier hit me! His arm turned into diamonds." She defended and he sighed.

"Whatever. Just stay behind me." He grumbled before taking out one of his newer swords. "Let's start with Yubashiri." He smirked before slicing the table in half. He jumped out of the building, slicing the hunters on the way out. She peered over the table just as the men fell to the ground with wounds on their chests. "You could have let me know you were going to do that." She frowned as she walked out of the building. "Shut up. It's your fault you got hit." He retorted. "I didn't even get hit! It was the impact." She declared and he snorted.

"There they are!"

"They've found us, come on." He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a ladder. She followed him up to the top when he suddenly froze. "Welcome!" Someone shouted, and Zoro fell backwards as a cannon shot rang through the air, still holding onto the ladder, and kicked his legs in the air. He narrowly missed hitting their heads together; instead his face was inches from hers. She frowned, uncomfortable with this situation, and his cheeks turned the color of her hair.

A loud cry gained their attention, and they saw the body builder woman holding to barrels of grog. She tossed them both and the people on the roof started screaming. "Don't worry about that! Kill them!" One of the men shouted, but Zoro split the barrel into four sections which took care of the hunters. Kya pushed herself up, placing her feet lightly on the barrel and sending it flying at two oncoming hunters. She flipped in the air and landed behind the swordsman, who frowned at the dark woman on the other building. "My, my. What a waste. Do you know how long it takes to make good liquor?"

Another cry exploded from behind them, and a man with a stone hammer charged at them. Zoro was quick to slice the large object in half and cut the holder, causing the large man to fall on the ground. The blade barely missed Kya's exposed stomach; it most likely would have gutted her if she had not moved an inch back. "Watch it with that thing." She warned. "Sorry." He breathed before looking at his newly acquired possession. "Sungdai Kitetsu is remarkably sharp. A good sword but has a thirst for blood. It might cause some problems for me." He noted to himself before quickly turning around and knocking a dagger from a young boy's hands.

"God please protect us!" A nun ran up to the boy, hugging him as she pulled out a cross. "Secret Technique: God Destroys the Eyes." She said as some sort of mist escaped the gold object. Zoro was quick to move out of the way and hit them with the blunt side of his swords. "If you want to trick me, next time use a more innocent looking kid." He told them as they fell over. "Come on." Kya grumbled, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards yet another ladder. "I just put them to sleep, I hope that's not a sin." He said jokingly, making her shaker her head.

"Ah! They're going up the ladder!"

"You morons! Follow them!"

The hunters began to pile up the ladder, but Zoro sat down in front of it. He smirked devilishly at the man on the top before pushing the wooden object over. He turned quickly and grabbed her legs, throwing her over his shoulder. "What the he-" She stopped when he jumped onto the ladder. "What?!"

"He's jumping onto the other building."

"Shoot them!"

"Two-Sword Style: Swooping Hawk!" As they landed on the building, the hunters were blown away by his attack. She quickly threw herself from off his shoulders, frowning angrily. "If you keep doing that you're going to get wrinkles." He told her simply. Before she could say anything back, a loud cry pierced the air. He used his sword to cut a large hole in the ground. She sighed, rubbing her forehead as she walked away. "I'm done with this man." She muttered to no one as the incoming hunters fell through the hole. He snickered behind her, but stopped when the woman from earlier came up behind him with yet another ladder. She jumped out of the way and he ducked to the ground as the object was flung into the wall.

"Found you."

A shiny figure flung itself into the door next to where she stood. _'That almost got me.'_ She breathed as the Diamond man stood in front of her. "Darling, you should have escaped when you had the chance. You'll never be able to escape me, Mr. 3.14." The man smirked evilly. "Should I really be afraid of a man whose name is pi?" She scoffed. "Don't make fun of my name!"

He flung himself at her, but she dodged, grabbing him by his hair and flinging his face into the wall. "Turning into diamonds, what a pain in the ass." She muttered as he stood up. "You're too pretty to be such a bitch." He wiped the blood from his chin. "Diamond Shot!" Small bits of diamonds flew from his fingers, flying towards her like bullets. One swiped her cheek, causing blood to flow down her face. "Soru." She appeared in front of him, sending her small foot into his face. He flew off the roof and into the next building.

"Found you."

She snapped her head to see Igaram frowning at her, his saxophone in hand. "Shit…." She muttered. "Killing Sound!" He shouted before a kamikaze of bullets came flying at her. She ran quickly and jumped off the side of the building. "Close one." She breathed, clutching her bandaged arm. She had reopened the wound and blood was now seeping through the white fabric.

"Get him Mr. 8! You can't escape now!"

She ran down an alley way, only to see Zoro with an iron chain wrapped around his arm. Stealthily, she pressed herself up against the wall of the building farthest from him. He shot a strange look at her but turned back to whoever was in front of him. "That's right! If you move, your important friend will die!" A woman, who sounded like Ms. Wednesday, sneered. _'Important friend?'_ The sound of snoring hit her ears, and she automatically knew it was Luffy.

"That's very good Ms. Wednesday! Now you can't escape or fight back!" Mr. 9 shouted loudly followed by Luffy's snoring. "If he was awake that would be fine, but how can he still be sleeping that situation?" Zoro murmured angrily. "Prepare to fire! Ready!" Igaram, or rather Mr. 8's voice boomed over them. "What's that?!" Zoro gasped at whatever was happening.

"Killing Sound!"

Gunshots rang through the air as Zoro pulled on the chain, throwing Mr. 9 in the line of fire. It hit the flamboyant man, making a loud boom and lots of smoke. Zoro pulled him back and flung him back over to where he was standing. The chain slipped off his arm and he motioned for Kya to come over to him. "Follow me!" He shouted, pulling out from behind the building. "Killing Sound!" They dodged the oncoming bullets and headed straight for Luffy, who was still inflated from all the food. "Luffy! Let us borrow your stomach." Zoro said, grabbing Kya and once again throwing the girl over his shoulder. They flew straight at Igaram, and with a simple move, Zoro sliced his chest and the large man fell off the building. The two of them landed safely on the building, which, ironically, was a church. "This should be the end." He sighed, blood pouring from his head. "You should really stop picking me up." She grumbled, sitting by the edge of the building. "It's not my fault you're slow. You also half the size of my swords." He shrugged. She frowned as the three Baroque Work members stood their feet.

"What a shame." Mr. 9 sighed heavily. "Boss asked us to take care of this town, but we lost to a swordsman and a girl." They stared angrily at the two pirates. "This will create a problem with our responsibility." Mr. 8 added before pulling out his saxophone. "Shit." Kya muttered, standing to her feet.

"Killing Sound!"

The two of them quickly jumped away from the barrage of bullets, and Zoro pulled his swords out. "Let's go Ms. Wednesday!" Mr. 9 shouted and the blue haired woman nodded before putting her pinky in her mouth and whistled. "Come Carue! Give me a hand!" She shouted. A loud quack echoed from the other side of the street, and there stood an odd looking duck. It was rather large, a saddle had been placed on its back along with a bridle on its head. It also sported a hat and small barrel on its neck. It waved its weak stupidly at the woman. "I didn't ask you to give me your hand! Come here!"

She jumped up on the duck as it came over. "Let's show them your power!" She shouted, and it quacked before sitting down. "Who told you to sit?!" She yelled. "What is she doing?" Zoro asked, clutching his swords tightly. "Paying attention to others can cause your death!" Mr. 9 laughed from the top of the church. "Here comes Double Ultimate Bludgeon!" He began to tumble down the stairs. "Steel Bat: Ultimate Technique!" His bat collided with Zoro's sword, making a loud clang noise. "These things are made of steel! They might break your swords!" Mr. 9 laughed as he flipped over Zoro. When the swordsman didn't move or say anything, the crown wearing man stopped laughing. "Huh, what's wrong? Are you afraid to move?"

A sword was thrusted into the man's face, missing his nose by an inch. He swung his bats, but Zoro blocked them with ease. "So is this all you can do?" He questioned, smirking as they got closer to the edge. "If you really want to have it that much, here!" He moved his sword and Mr. 9 flipped, all the way off the top of the building. "Checkmate."

"This is boring." Kya mumbled, crossing her arms. "Aye, is there anyone here to take seriously?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow. "I do! Prepare to die!" Ms. Wednesday appeared, standing atop her duck. "Look at my body carefully." She said sensually, and the two pirates scrunched their faces. "Confusing Dance!" She swayed her body back and forth, but it didn't really do anything. Kya sighed and stepped forward. "Soru." She appeared next to the girl and duck, kicking them both off the top of the building.

"We've got you now!"

Igaram and the large lady from early were back again. "Do they ever stop?" Zoro grumbled and Kya shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to keep finishing them off like this." Both pirates charged forward, taking care of the agents in a matter of minutes. He threw the two of them off the building and brushed his hands off. "Finished with cleaning up." He said out loud. She walked over to a few crates and began to dig through them. Eventually she found two bottles of alcohol. "Here." She tossed him one. "Finally, the peaceful night has returned!" He cheered before chugging half of it. They sat down on the edge of the building, drinking away until he stopped and became serious. "Is it just me, or is someone coming?" He asked. She closed her eyes. "They're already here."

They watched as Mr. 8 pulled himself to his feet, only to be face with a blonde woman in a dress with an umbrella and a man wearing a long trench coat. "Damn. If we let Luffy stay over there…" Zoro trailed off, finishing the last of his drink. Suddenly, Mr. 8 had cannons come out of his hair, and shot at the new man. "Shit, come on." She dropped the bottle and stood up before running down through the building. "Get Luffy!" She instructed, running through the middle of the Baroque member's fight. "Damn! This sure is a busy night!" He exclaimed, dragging the still passed out captain behind him. "Anyway, do whatever you wanna do."

They watched as Mr. 9 charged at the man with the trench coat, his bats flailing about. The man in the trench coat suddenly stuck a finger up his nose and pulled a rather large booger out. He flung it at Mr. 9, which cause it to explode and sent him flying. "His booger is really dangerous." Zoro muttered, making Kya snicker. They both jumped lightly when Mr. 8 grabbed their ankles. "Hey! What're you doing?!"

"Sir, ma'am. Based on your abilities I would like to ask you a favor!"

"Why do we have to do you a favor?!"

"Those two people have gotten their abilities from Devil Fruits, so I cannot defeat them. I would like to ask you to protect the Princess for me! Please!" Mr. 8 shouted as Ms. Wednesday ran off with her duck. "If you can take the Princess to the great country of Alabasta, we will repay you with a great prize!" He coughed as the pirates tried to pull away. "You want me to hurt you again or what?" Zoro growled, but the man ignored him. "Please! I beg you! Please protect the Princess!"

"A great prize? Is that really true?"

The three of them looked over to see Nami sitting there, a sly look on her face. "Nami!" Kya and Zoro said together, frowning slightly. "That's very interesting. How about 1 billion Beli?" The navigator winked at Mr. 8. "1 billion Beli?" Mr. 8 coughed and released their ankles before singing lightly. "Didn't you get drunk and fall asleep?" Zoro deadpanned. "You think that I can sleep peacefully in a town that welcomes pirate?" Nami answered over Luffy's snoring. Kya sighed and crossed her arms. "I pretended the whole thing! Am I good or what?"

"Oh, is that so…."

"So, will you pay me 1 billion Beli, Mr. Royal Guard? If we don't help you, your princess will die for sure." Nami bent down in front of the injured man. "How can a soldier like me find that kind of money?" He shouted. "So your princess is worthless compared to money? Just pay." She told him, getting in his face. "That's threatening." Zoro murmured from the sighed. Kya stayed silent, watching the scene unfold before her. "If…If you can help the Princess, you can deal with her directly. I'm sure that she will agree." Mr. 8 coughed. "You mean that we have to help the princess first?"

"During our negotiation, the Princess is…!"

"Okay, I will help the Princess first." Nami brushed her hair back as she stood up straight. "Well go Zoro! Kya!" She shouted. The assassin hung her head angrily, her mouth twitching. "I'm going to kill you…." She muttered lowly. "If you want to do that, go by yourself! How come we have to help you get money?!" Zoro shouted.

"Are you crazy? If it is about money, it sure is about me. But if it's about a promise, everyone must be involved too." Nami pointed at him. "You are really selfish!" He yelled back at her. "What?! I just asked you to hurt someone. Is that a problem?" She was in his face now. "I hate to be used by people. Don't compare me to that stupid chef!" _'When did she say anything about Sanji?'_ Kya frowned, watching their argument curiously. "Are you afraid you're going to lose to them?" Nami asked slyly. "What?! Say that again!" He was even angrier now. "Are you afraid you're going to lose to them?" "I said that you should change your words, not repeat them!"

"Did you forget, you still owe me?" She placed her hands on her hips. "When was that? Don't make up stories." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I lent you 100,000 Beli at Loguetown so you could buy your swords." She informed him. "But I've already given that back to you because my swords were free." He stated. "But you also promised me that you would pay three times interest, right? You still owe me 200,000 Beli."

"Actually, I don't have to give that money back to you, right?"

"No way! A person like you, can't even keep one promise?"

She struck a chord there. Zoro froze, an angry look on his face. "If I do what you said, you will not owe me anything." He twitched and she smiled at Kya. "Go with him." She said. "No way. I don't owe you shit." The assassin scoffed. Nami sighed. "Yes, but if he gets lost or injured and no one can save the Princess, it all falls on you….doesn't it?"

"….You're a witch."

The two pirates stomped off angrily, Nami waving after them. "You're going to hell." Zoro muttered. "That's right!" The navigator cheered back. "I hate her…." Kya said angrily as they began to run through town. "Doesn't everybody? Don't answer that."

They ran until they heard a loud commotion going on by the rocks. There stood the Princess on her duck looking at the man in the trench coat and the blonde woman. The muscular woman the pirates had fought earlier was standing there, until the man had clotheslined her and set off an explosion. "Come on!" Zoro pulled at her, and they ran closer. They watched as the man picked his nose and pulled out another booger. "Booger…" The Princess began to run off. "Bullet!"

Zoro jumped in the line of fire, holding his sword in front of him. The booger was sliced in half, exploding as it hit the ground on either side of them. Kya ran up to the Princess, who had stopped and looked at the scene strangely. "Who are they?" the booger man asked. "I had to cut a booger!" Zoro freaked, looking at his sword in anguish. Kya couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why do you have to show up in a situation like this?!" The Princess attempted to swing her weapon, but Kya grabbed her wrist. "Calm down. We came here to help you." She informed the Princess. "Help me?"

"So, you are the swordsman and woman who destroyed this town." The blonde woman cackled. "Hmm? Why are they protecting the Princess of Alabasta?" The man in the trench coat asked. "We have our own reasons." Zoro defended.

"Never mind. You still can't compare to us, just another worthless obstacle." The man said, crossing his arms. "That's right, so this obstacle…" The woman smiled and removed her hat. "…shall be crushed by my ground power."

"Zoro!"

Everyone's attention was turned to Luffy, who was now standing at the end of alleyway. "What is it now?" The woman scoffed. "Luffy. If you've come to help out, that's not necessary. Or did you owe that girl too?" Zoro smirked lightly. "I won't forgive you for this! Let's fight!" Zoro's face dropped and Kya smacked her hand against her forehead.

"What?!"

"Oh dear…."

* * *

**Thank you everyone for being patient and still reading my story. I appreciate it. :) and in case anyone was wondering (since it has been brought to my attention) her name is pronounced like Ki(like in kite)ya. Not like Kia, as in the car. Just clearing things up. **


	20. Caring

**Chapter 20**

"**The simple act of caring is heroic."-Edward Albert**

* * *

Kya's eyes widened as she watched a fattened Luffy punch a confused Zoro in the face, sending him into the rocks. The captain was yelling at his swordsman for hurting the townspeople, which he believed were innocent bystanders. "Are they idiots…." The princess muttered from her seat on the duck.

"Do you want to kill me or what?!" Zoro shouted, dodging Luffy's next attack. "Yes, just go to hell!" Luffy told him angrily before nearly taking the swordsman out. "Hey you! Can you listen to me first?!" Luffy's gut was thrusted into the rocks and they shattered everywhere.

"It's seems that he didn't come to stop us…." The blonde Baroque Works woman told her partner. "That maybe right Ms. Valentine. Anyway, we'd better take care of our business as soon as possible….. To kill the princess…of Alabasta." He turned to look at the blue haired girl, smiling sinisterly.

"Let's go Ms. Valentine!"

"Yes, Mr. 5!"

Kya jumped in front of the princess and her duck, clutching her dagger tightly. _'If I let the princess get hurt, Nami will have my ass.'_ She shuddered at the thought of the navigator's angry glares. The two members didn't stand a chance, as Zoro kicked Luffy in the face and sent him flying into them. "Would you stop being an idiot?!" He shouted as they crashed into a building. "What a moron!"

Suddenly, the building exploded, causing the princess to scream, and the Ms. Valentine was floating in the air. "I am really angry now! You all must die with my special ability from the Kilo Kilo fruit." She giggled. "Be prepared right now, my weight is only 1 kilogram so I can jump very high! Besides…." She began to fall slowly. "Mr. Bushido, get out of there! That woman will-" Zoro cut the princess off. "Shut up."

Kya sighed, placing her dagger back in its older. Those two idiots had this fight, even if they were fighting with each other. "This is not time to worry about that." He seethed as Luffy made his way back down the road. He had lost the fat and was carrying a beat up and bloody Mr. 5. "That exercise made all of my food digest again." The rubber boy commented casually, patting his stomach. "M…Mr. 5. You must be kidding?! He is an officer agent of Baroque Works!" The princess nearly shouted, but he simply dropped the unconscious man to the ground. "Finally, let's get serious."

"Luffy listen to me, everyone in this town is a pirate hunter." Zoro tried to explain as Ms. Wednesday began shouting again. "So they were all our enemies." Luffy growled lowly at him. "Lies! What kind of enemy would bring us food?!" He reasoned loudly. "Are you sure?! My skill is to control weight! From 1 kilogram to 10,000 kilograms! Eat this, 10,000 kilograms!" Ms. Wednesday fell quickly, but Zoro just moved away and she fell straight into the ground. "Luffy, I think that you won't listen to me this time." He tied his bandana around his head. "You idiot I have to be serious this time. If you die, don't be sorry!" He pulled his swords out as Luffy huffed. "No way!"

"Wait a minute!" The princess shouted before turning to Kya. "Aren't they friends?!" She asked and the assassin nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just ignore them…" She said dully. "Gomu Gomu no…." Luffy's arms stretched back as Zoro got into a stance. "Killing…"

"Bazooka!"

"Swords!"

The two clashed, and a surge of power escaped from their parry. "This is a good chance. Let's see who is better between a fighter and a swordsman." Zoro said, struggling against Luffy's hands and feet. "Sure! Let's go!" The battle exploded; the tow of them began to attack, sending each other into buildings. Kya had to dodge the attacks, as neither of them were paying attention to their surroundings. She backed up to the top of a rock, watching over the battlefield. The whole area was completely destroyed and a mess. She watched as the princess and her duck attempted to cross through the wreckage, but the pirates nearly beat them to a pulp.

In the background, the two Baroque Works officers stumbled to their feet. The talked for a moment before heading straight for Luffy and Zoro, and who turned to look at them with an evil eye. They stopped; shaking in fear as the pirates slowly marched over to them. "Don't you dare get involved…." They sent the officers flying. "…In our fight!"

Kya frowned as she Nami stomping her way over to the two boys angrily. "This isn't good….." She muttered, hopping off the rock. "Guess I should look like I helped." She yawned lightly before walking over to the terrified princess. Luffy and Zoro reached back for one last hit, but Nami punched both of them in the face roughly. "Stop being stupid you two!" She yelled as they fell to the ground. "What are you doing?! As long as you protect that girl, everything should be fine!"

She lifted them up by the shirts; there was much more blood on their faces now. "I was so close to 1 billion Beli, do you realize that?!" Her eyes moved to Kya. "What the hell were you doing while this happened?!" The assassin shrugged. "Watching." She answered casually. Nami's eyebrow twitched angrily, but before she could say anything, the princess spoke. "What are you talking about? And why are you helping me?"

"That's right, we have to talk. How about some negotiations?" Nami proposed as the boys began pulling at each other. "Negotiations?" The princess repeated before Nami hit the boys again. "Stop fighting!"

They group headed over to an area that wasn't destroyed, were they began discussing what was going on. Kya sat on a crate in between Zoro and Luffy while Nami stood across from her and the princess, whose name was Vivi, sat next to Zoro. Luffy was laughing hysterically at the fact Zoro had been right all along as Nami and Vivi discussed money matters.

"Why didn't you tell me first? I thought you were made at them for not having your favorite food, so you hurt them." Luffy laughed, holding his gut. "Don't compare me with you!" Zoro shouted at him. Kya couldn't help but chuckle as Luffy laughed louder. "And don't laugh with him! Why didn't he fight you anyways?" He asked. She turned to the captain and he shrugged at her. "They just said Zoro hurt them…"

"That's impossible…..Anyways. Thank you for saving my life." Vivi answered Nami after hearing the price. "Why? Aren't you a princess? It's just 1 billion Beli." Nami said simply. "Do you know of Alabasta?" Vivi asked. "No, I've never heard of it before."

"It used to be the most peaceful and civilized nation in the Grand Line." She continued. "Used to?" Nami repeated. "During these past 2-3 years there was a civil war. The citizens started to create turmoil and disturb the nation. Until one day I heard about an organization called Baroque Works. I learned that our citizens were persuaded by this organization. Besides that, I don't know anything so we can't do anything about them. So I asked Igaram, the person who's taken care of me since I was a kid, to help me."

"You mean that old man with the curly hair?" Luffy made swirls with his fingers by his head, but Vivi ignored him. "With a little rumor, we can't do anything. So, we decided to join Baroque Works to dig up some more secrets so that we will know the identity of the person behind this and his motive." She stared at the ground angrily. "You're a brave princess." Zoro noted gruffly. "Th main purpose of Baroque Works is to build a 'dream country'." Kya said, remembering her discussion with the scout years earlier. "Wait a minute. Isn't this…?" Nami trailed off.

"Yes. Boss used the words 'dream country' to control everyone. The actual goal of Baroque Works is to conquer Alabasta. I have to hurry up and warn everyone. If I can't stop this, we will all fall into Baroque Work's plan." The princess finished in sadness. "That's why. I completely understand now. A chaotic nation wouldn't have that much money, right?" Nami let out a light breath. "So, who is the boss?" Luffy's question made Vivi freak. "The boss?! You'd better not know that! That is the only thing I cannot tell you because it would cost your life."

"It's good that you're not telling us because the person who wants to conquer a nation should be the worst man ever, right?" Nami laughed and Vivi nodded. "That's right. No matter how good you are, you cannot compare to Crocodile, one of the seven Shichibukai." After these words came from her mouth, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth. Nami and Luffy's mouths dropped in fear while Kya hung her head low. "Didn't you just say the name…" Zoro deadpanned.

There was sort of a clicking noise, and the group looked over to see an otter and a culture staring at them. They were wearing horrid outfits, and looked to be part of Baroque Works. They looked at each other for a second, before the otter hopped on the vulture and flew off. Nami turned to Vivi and began screaming at her. Kya rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to tune out the annoying woman. "We're all dead." She muttered, looking at half of her makeshift crew. "We're all dead."

"We just came to the Grand Line and already two of the Shichibukai want us dead." Nami cried, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I never thought I'd meet them this early, we're so lucky." Zoro chuckled. "I wonder what kind of person he is." Luffy said, grinning like an idiot. "Shut up!" The navigator screamed before walking off. "Thank you for everything even though it was just a short period of time."

"Where are you going?" Kya asked, raising an eyebrow. "He still doesn't know my face, so I'd better escape now." Nami muttered just as the otter and vulture returned. The otter took out a sketchbook and quickly began drawing, casting glances at the crew. He lifted up four drawings; Zoro, Nami, Luffy, and Kya. "Wow. You're good." Nami clapped before the animals took off. She twitched and turned back to Vivi. "This means that I can't run away now!" She screamed. "I'm sorry!" Vivi squeaked. "That otter is very interesting." Luffy threw in. "Where do you think you would've escaped anyways?" Zoro muttered. "So, this means we are in Baroque Work's blacklist now." Kya sighed but smiled lightly. "That's so exciting!" Luffy laughed as Nami sulked in a corner, Vivi trying to help her. "I have 500,000 Beli in my account."

"Please don't worry everyone!"

Igaram had walked up to them, attempting to look like Vivi in her outfit and hairstyle. "Do..Do..Don't worry! I have a plan!" He informed everyone, fixing the dummies he had under his arms. "Igaram! Why are you dressed like that?" Vivi gasped. "Wow! Your outfit is really nice!" Luffy laughed loudly. "You aren't very convincing…" Kya muttered, looking the strange man up and down. "All crazy people." Nami cried from her corner.

"Listen to me. If you are wanted by Baroque Works, sooner or later they will send someone to find you. It Mr. 5's group is still unconscious, that is good. Let me tell you something right now. Because if this is one of the Shichibukai, the government doesn't want him. But when Crocodile, boss of Baroque Works, used to be a pirate, his bounty was 80 million Beli." Igaram explained as Kya stood to her feet and stretched. "So, how about the deal of taking the princess to Alabasta?" He asked. "Eh? What are you taking about?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. "He wanted us to take the princess home." Zoro explained to him. "Oh. Sure, why not?"

"80 million Beli. That's four times higher than Arlong's! Just deny it!" Nami screamed from her spot but was ignored, per usual. "Princess, please give me the Eternal Pose." Igaram said to Vivi, who looked at him surprised. "What's an Eternal Pose?" Nami asked through her tears. "You don't know it?"

"It's a permanent Log Pose. The regular Log Pose only guides you from one island to the next. But for this kind of Log Pose, once it's memorized the frequency it will record that island forever." Kya explained before digging through one of her belt pockets. She pulled out the only Eternal Pose she had; there was no writing on it stating the name. Igaram had one for Alabasta in his hand also. "No matter where you are, you will guide only to that island. That's why it's called an Eternal Pose. Igaram-san's Log Pose has recorded the magnetic frequency of Alabasta." She finished as Luffy stared down at hers. "Where does yours point to?" He asked, blinking innocently. She sighed and placed it back into her pocket. "My home."

"Listen, Princess Vivi. I will disguise myself as you and take these dummies with me to Alabasta. When Baroque Works is chasing me, please go with these people to Alabasta taking the regular route." Igaram began before frowning. "I've never been that route, but you should pass two or three islands before getting to Alabasta. If you are safe, I hope to see you at our country."

They followed Igaram to the other side of the island to his small ship. "Please take care of the Princess." He said, looking mainly at Kya. She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Of course." She assured him. "That outfit really suits you." Luffy chuckled, his hands on his hips. "How?" Zoro muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Igaram ignored them and grabbed Vivi's hand lightly. "I think there will be many obstacles during this journey, but please take good care of yourself princess." He said, smiling sadly. "You, too." She answered, before jumping into his chest. They hugged for a few moments before he boarded the small ship and set sail.

"He's gone. He's still cool until the last minute." Luffy said, waving slightly. Kya chuckled next to him while Zoro gave a small grunt on her other side. "He is a person that I can rely on." Vivi told them, before staring out at sea. The pirates turned around to give the princess a moment, when a loud explosion rang through the air. Kya closed her eyes, hoping it was just a hallucination, but slowly she turned around. Cracking an eye, she saw the flames in the open water; though they could barely be described as flames, more like an inferno.

"Damn it! Someone found him!" Zoro cursed. "This is too much!" Luffy screamed angrily as he began to storm off. "Nami! Is the Log Pose ready?" Zoro shouted. Said girl nodded. "Don't worry it's okay now." She answered. "Let's grab her and go!" He motioned towards Kya and Nami. The two girls ran over to the princess, grabbing her arms. "Vivi, hurry up! If they find us, everything will be over for nothing!" Kya shouted, but the princess began to cry, chewing her lip roughly. Nami frowned, holding the younger girl tightly. "Don't worry! We will take you to Alabasta safely! Because they helped East Blue, Shichibukai is nothing!" Kya nodded in agreement, and looked out at the burning blaze. She felt anger boiling in her stomach. She may not care about others much, but taking away someone they loved in front of their eyes was just the devil's work.

Vivi pulled away from Nami and nodded, wiping her eyes. "Thank you." She muttered. "We'll deal with this later, we need to leave now." Kya told them, and they took off. She was leading, with Nami behind her and Vivi lagging behind. "Hurry up Vivi!" The assassin called out as the Merry came into view. "Wait! I have to find my duck, Carue!"

"But we don't have any time to look for it now!" Nami screamed as the two skidded to a stop. Kya sighed and climbed aboard the ship. "But I can't leave him here!" Vivi screamed. "Hey, what's wrong?" Zoro asked from the deck. "Carue, disappeared so she has to whistle and find it!" Nami explained angrily. "Are you talking about this duck?" Just as those words left his lips, Carue appeared next to him and quacked happily. "He was here before me." "Kya sighed and shook her head as she climbed up the mast. "So you are over there!?"

The girls climbed aboard and Kya unfurled the sails before climbing into the crow's nest. "Turn the ship upstream because it will be the fastest way out of here!" Vivi told them. Kya frowned and looked down at the deck to see Sanji and Usopp laying down. "Bakas." She said to herself as Luffy began to speak. "Do you know how many people will follow us?" He asked as she leaned over the side to hear. "I'm not sure, but there about 2,000 people working for Baroque Works and there are many towns similar to Whiskey Peak." Vivi explained. "I think, maybe about 1,000 because we know the identity of the boss and that's a very big deal." Nami suggested.

"Why do we have to hurry!? Tell me! Let's stay here for another night. This town is very good and there are many cute girls!"

"That's right! I don't think we will find any better towns! Let's stay here and enjoy! Besides, it's not even morning yet, understand?! Let's go back!"

Kya ignored her crew and watched the waters intensely. She saw a figure coming towards the Merry. "Hey! Gu-" She didn't have time to warn the others as something covered her eyes and mouth. It seemed like there were more than six people tying her to the mast in the crow's nest, but it was two small to barely hold two! She struggled as a gag was placed in her mouth and something was tied around her head. She kicked against the wood angrily. _'How the hell does this happen?'_

"Why are you here, Ms. All-Sunday?!" She heard Vivi scream. "Who is she and where is her partner?!" Nami yelled. "Mr. 0! She is the boss's partner and the only one who knows about the boss. I followed her, so I know his true identity." Vivi explained frantically. "Actually, I just let you follow me." A new voice said. It was a woman's, smooth and mysterious. "So, is she a good person?" Luffy asked stupidly. "I knew that! And the person who told boss about me was you, too, right?"

"What? So she is a bad person then." Luffy was just talking to himself now. "What do you want from me?!" Vivi yelled. "Because I feel you've worked really hard. So I decided to help you." The woman explained. "However, the princess who wants to help her nation but decided to become a Baroque Work's agent is very stupid."

"Stop insulting me!" Vivi yelled angrily. Kya groaned as she heard soft thumps that sound like Usopp and Sanji. _'I have to help them.'_ She tried to reach for her dagger, but her hands were tied together so she couldn't reach it. "Hey!" She heard Usopp say. "You're doing this because you know what you're supposed to be doing right?" He asked and Sanji 'tched'. "No, but it seems that this woman is dangerous for my beloved Ms. Wednesday so I cannot let her live." He answered.

"But those things are dangerous." The unknown woman said before there were two loud thumps. "Don't point them at me." She finished as the others gasped. "What's that?!" Zoro shouted. "Power from a Devil's Fruit?" Vivi asked no one. "Wow!" Luffy gapped.

'_That makes sense now. But what kind?'_ Kya growled to herself as she still continued to struggle. "So that must be the Devil Fruit's power!" Zoro yelled. "What kind of power is that?" Nami asked frantically. "Wow, actually she is really beautiful!" Sanji fawned. "Calm down, I haven't received any orders yet. So there is no reason to fight you now." There was a slight pause before she spoke again. "So you are the captain, Monkey D. Luffy, right?"

"Give me back my hat! Do you want to mess with me!? I know that you are our enemy after all! Why don't you just come and get it now!" Luffy shouted angrily, but the woman ignored him. "You are so unlucky to help the princess, who is now an enemy of Baroque Works. And you too, princess; you only have a few pirates to take care of you." She said. "But worst of all is the direction you're heading to. Your next destination is Little Garden. We don't even have to do anything over there and you might….Maybe you won't arrive in Alabasta. You all will disappear from this world before you see Crocodile's face."

"Do you think we will be as what you said?! Give me back my hat!" Luffy shouted again. "You idiot, you really are crazy!" Usopp yelled at him. "Why are you hiding?" Kya could barely hear Zoro's low voice, but that didn't matter much to her at the moment. They were heading to Little Garden? If she could get untied she'd make them change paths or something! In all her days in Grand Line, she had never heard of one person coming off that island alive.

"Stop barking!" The woman ordered. "Anyone can boast. You knew that you will face many obstacles but you're still going to go there. You're really crazy." She chuckled lightly. "Eternal Pose?" Vivi asked out loud. "If you have that, you can overcome any obstacle because that Log Pose will guide you to Alabasta. Our boss doesn't even know the way to get there, so we can't follow you." The woman explained. "So, she is a good person?" Nami asked. "Why are you doing this?!" Vivi yelled. "I think it's a trap." Zoro stated. "I'll let you decided if it's a trap or not."

'_Thank god we've got the Eternal Pose. We'd be dead if we didn't.' _Kya's thoughts were ruined when she heard Luffy. "Don't worry about that!" The sound of glass breaking echoed around the ship, and Kya would have killed her captain if she could. "Are you crazy?!" Nami shouted before there was a loud thud, most likely her hurting him. "She just provided us the easy way, but you destroyed it! If that woman is really a good person, we just lost a big opportunity!"

"You don't have a right to decide our route!" Luffy shouted. "Really? That's a pity." The woman said, slightly amused. "You really are crazy!" Nami shouted again. "I hate her because she bombed curly haired old man's ship." He explained. "I don't mind a person with great spirit like you. If you are lucky, we shall meet again." She told him. "Who wants to meet you?"

Kya figured the woman left, as the blind fold and gag were removed from her face. "Finally." She breathed before clearing her throat. "Oi! Someone help!" She shouted. It took a moment, but Zoro finally reached the crow's next. "What happened to you?" He laughed. She frowned and struggled against the ropes. "Shut up and untie me." She grumbled. He removed one of his swords and cut off the rope around the mast. "Now get my hands."

"You sure are demanding." He said lowly. She didn't answer, just sighed as he began to untie the ropes on her arms. She frowned, staring at the ocean. How is it, that after just entering the Grand Line, the already have two Shichibukais after them? Was it bad luck or just addiction to adventure? She was all for adventure, but not this kind. This kind only brought pain and suffering. She may not be extremely close to the crew, but they were nakama; she did care about them. _'I guess that's what I get for caring…'_ She chewed her cheek roughly. She had the Eternal Pose; she could just leave now, but why wasn't she? Something was holding her back, but she didn't know what yet.

"Hey." She jumped when Zoro hit her on the back of the head. "What?" She growled, rubbing the spot he had hit. "Obviously, you're free baka." He shook his head before going over the side. She rolled her eyes and followed after him. Reaching the deck, she was met with a strange scene. Nami was up in Vivi's face, two fingers against the princess' forehead. "It's all your fault, after all. If you really don't want us to be in trouble you shouldn't follow us in the first place." The orange haired girl growled. "I'm sorry." Vivi whimpered. "Isn't that right Luffy?"

"It's morning! Sanji cook breakfast!"

"It seems that he doesn't even care." Vivi muttered. "Hey! Can anyone tell me what's going on?!" Sanji and Usopp shouted together. "Anyway, it's already morning. Let's go!"

* * *

Breakfast went its normal way, even with two extra members. Sanji made a huge breakfast and Luffy attempted to eat all of it. Thankfully Vivi and Carue were warned beforehand and were able to salvage some of it. Kya felt nauseous; she couldn't even eat an apple. Sanji and Luffy had pestered her throughout the meal, but she blew them off. She had told Luffy about the dangers of Little Garden, but he laughed it off.

At the moment she sat in the kitchen by herself, her Eternal Pose clasped in her hands, while the others were outside. She was very confused; should she leave them and head straight to the island, or stick here and wait it out? The date of destruction was getting closer and closer. Chewing the inside of her lip, she pressed the Pose up against her forehead. She'd lose sight of him if she was too late, but she couldn't just leave the crew.

The door to the kitchen opened, making her jump slightly. "Oh, Kya-chwan!~ What are you doing here?" Sanji blinked, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. She let out a light breath and shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just not feeling very well." Within seconds than man was next to her with a hand on her cheek. "You don't feel feverish, but here let me make you something!" He twirled over to the counter, hearts in his eyes. "No, no. I don't feel like eating. I'm fine thank you." She placed the Eternal Pose back in her pocket quickly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm really sure."

For the next thirty minutes Sanji concocted some drink at the counter, probing her about what was wrong. She ignored him for the most part, until he struck a nerve. "Luffy was talking to me the other day." He cleared his throat. "He said you had someone's name on your leg. Do you have a lover, Kya-chwan?"

The question caught her off guard, and she glared at the wall across from her. Had Luffy told everyone about the scar? She bit her lip so hard blood poured down her chin. "What's it to you?" She spat, wiping the red liquid away. "So what if it's someone who means something to me or not? It's my personal business what's on my body. Don't ever ask about that again."

"Wa-wait! Kya-chan, I didn't me-"

"Don't say anything else." She hissed before storming out the door, slamming it behind her. "K-Kya…what's going on?" Nami stuttered from her place next to the door. The assassin barely held back an insult before walking past Vivi and gliding down the steps. _'Bastards. I'll kill them all.'_ She frowned deeply, keeping her head low as she made her way into the bedroom. She grabbed a book off the shelf and sat down on the couch. Maybe she just needed a little time alone.

* * *

**Happy Columbus Day! (well to those in America). Even though Columbus didn't actually discover America first but oh well. Sorry it's kind of short. D: and all the dialogue. But Edward Albert is pretty amazing and I miss him. :(**


	21. Letters From A Thief

**Chapter 21**

"**In prehistoric times, mankind often had only two choices in a crisis situation; fight or flee. In modern times, humor offers us a third alternative; fight, flee – or laugh." - Robert Orben**

"Be careful. I'm just worrying about what Ms. All-Sunday said." Vivi told the crew. The Merry had just pulled into a small passage of water so they could dock at Little Island. "There will be monsters here." Usopp stated. "Yes." Kya answered him, and he gave her a frightful look. "But we have to find more food because we didn't buy any from the last town." Sanji informed them as she leaned over the railing. She hadn't talked to the flirtatious man since their argument, and she did feel slightly guilty. She figured after exploring the jungle-like island she'd apologize to him.

"But this place looks like a tropical forest, the mysterious place." Luffy said, peering at the large trees. "How come it's not as cute as its name?" Nami whined. "I've never seen these kinds of trees before." She added as Kya jumped onto the lush grass. "Wh-What are you doing?! You just said there were monsters here!" Usopp cried out. She shrugged, gently touching the leaf of a plant that was three times her size. "I lied. I've only heard fables of this place." She admitted as a loud cry rang through the air. They looked up to see a large feathered….. bird? It looked more like a reptile to her, but it was still huge nonetheless.

"What's that?!" Nami screamed and Sanji had hearts in his eyes. "You're so cute Nami-swan! Don't worry. It's just a bird and this place is just a normal forest, don't worry." He told her as the bird-thing got closer. "Is that a gecko?" Luffy gawked. After he spoke, an enormous roar came from the forest. "Is that supposed to be a sound from a normal forest?!" Nami yelled. "It sounded like a volcanic eruption!" Usopp's jaw was near his ankles. "A tiger?" Vivi murmured, and sure enough a huge tiger covered in blood limping towards the water. It tripped and ended up falling into the blue ocean. "Ah, well….I'm off." Kya gave a short wave, ignoring their protests, and headed into the dense forestry.

She could here Nami's screaming as she wandered off deeper. "Such an annoying woman." She muttered, rubbing her temples. She caressed a plant lightly, letting out a sigh. Aside from the largeness of the place, it reminded her of home. The humid air, the dense forest, scarce amount of people; it was almost like she was there. "Too bad it's not." She murmured, leaning back against a tree.

"What's not?"

She jumped; and whose voice was it that caused this action? Ron, of all people. "I told you to stop following me." She growled, lightly touching her dagger. "Calm down. If you don't fight back, it won't be as hard." He held his hands up. "Fight back?" She repeated, backing up slightly. "We do coincide with the World Government, which includes Shichibukai." He cracked his knuckles, walking forward. "So that means you've been secretly working with Crocodile in the mess."

"Precisely."

When he answered, she took off running. _'I'm not going to get caught by that bastard.'_ She thought to herself, swiftly dodging the large branches. She didn't feel him following her, so she skidded to a stop, hiding behind a large bush. "Damn man is so persistent." She grumbled just as something dripped from above, landing in front of her. She watched as it bubbled, making light popping noises. "What the hell is-" She couldn't even finish her sentence as the largest spider she'd ever seen in her life jumped down from a tree. She could have easily defeated the 3 foot tall monster, but why didn't she?

She's absolutely terrified of spiders.

Letting out a terrified shriek, she took off again. The ugly black creature made large thumps as he chased after her, knocking down bushes and trees along the way. "Leave me alone!" She cried, pushing her way through the underbrush. Th demon spawn* behind her hissed and spat, sending her legs into over gear.

Just as she cleared the underbrush, she saw what looked to be a dead animal. "What the hell…" She breathed before jumping over the large creature, which proved to be a terrible idea. Once she cleared its back, she rammed straight into Zoro's back, sending them tumbling forward.

"God dammit." The large man grumbled as she scrambled off him. "Kya, what are you doing?" He asked as she scooted back up against a tree. She stared at the spider, who sat atop the dead creature with venom dripping from its fangs, her jaw slack. She couldn't even speak, and barely managed to point with a shaky hand at the terrifying bug. Zoro furrowed his eyebrows at her before turning to the direction she was looking at.

"Holy-" The spider jumped up, landing in front of the two and she let out a scream. "Why would you bring me this thing?!" He shouted, pulling out one of katana. As the arachnid charged, he swung his blade, cutting it in half. It froze for a moment before both sides fell to the ground, venom oozing and bubbling to the ground.

Kya stared at it as she slowly stood to her feet, her eyes never leaving it as she scooted behind Zoro. "It's dead, it can't hurt you anymore." He could barely hold back his laughter at the sight; one of the strongest people he knew, cowering behind him over something as simple as a spider. She grabbed his arm lightly, keeping him in front of her as she began to back up to the other dead creature. "I don't like spiders." She mumbled, making him burst out in laughter. Giving him a swift punch to the shoulder, she turned to the thing behind her.

"A dinosaur?"

She gently brushed her fingers against one of the horns of the triceratops as he cleared his throat. "It's dead, you don't have to be so careful with it." He said smugly, earning a glare from the assassin. "Why'd you kill it? It's a dinosaur! How fascinating is this place?" She asked him, barely above a whisper. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Not very, considering you were the one running away from a spider."

"I'm going to murder you."

As she turned to hit him, a bullet hit the ground in between them, and they both turned to find out who the culprit was. "Tsk, tsk my dear. Leaving in the middle of our conversation. How rude." Ron walked out from the bushes, a revolver in hand. "I'd think you would have known better than that." He smiled devilishly at her, making her frown deeply. "Stop following me! I get it! I don't have much time left, but I can make it. Just get off my back!" She yelled at the long haired man. He shook his head as he loaded some more shots into the gun. "Nero and Sora-sama don't have that much patience, you know? They'd rather not wait for you to get back. They'll have my ass on a silver platter if I don't get you back soon enough."

Just as he was about to take a step forward, Zoro thrust a katana into his face. "I don't know exactly know who you are, or why you're here, but it's my duty to protect my nakama. I won't let you hurt her." He declared, making Ron smile even wider. "Nakama, eh? Who knew you could actually care, Kya-chan." She chewed her cheek, fingering her dagger. "Ju-Just go away okay. Give me some time. I'll be there as soon as I can." She walked forward slightly, but Zoro pushed another one of his katana near her chest. "We'll discuss this later. Stay back." He said in a low voice. She swallowed heavily. "Zoro…."

"Don't bother with her. She'll leave you, just like she does everyone else. That, or you'll all end up dead." Ron pushed the sword away from his face and walked towards her. This time, though, Zoro didn't try to stop him, only lowered his weapons. "I assume you know nothing of her past. A shame, really. It could make a beautiful, yet tragic, novel." With a swift movement, Ron's hand was wrapped skillfully around her neck. She coughed, clawing at his muscular arm, but her efforts were fruitless. She looked to her crewmate for help, but the man was staring the opposite way, his body rigid.

"I guess it's time to take you home."

Her head was slammed into the ground, hitting a rock extremely hard. She gasped and groaned, grabbing her bloody head. "I said I wouldn't let you hurt her." She heard Zoro say lowly, now standing next to her side. She pushed herself to her knees as a loud cry rang through the air. Ron had moved to the area opposite of him. "You really are making this difficult my dear. However, I'll come back later. I doubt your nakama will be able to survive this." The hated man gave a small wave before suddenly disappearing.

'_This won't be able to go on for much longer.'_ She thought, staggering to her feet. A strong hand gripped her upper arm tightly and she warily glanced at the swordsman. "Kya." He said darkly and she lowered her head. "I don't want to talk about this." She whispered as he squeezed her arm tightly. "Are you really going to leave us?"

His grip tightened when she didn't answer. "You at least won't kill us right?" She turned to him defensively. "I'd never do that." She said quickly as he closed his eyes. His grip worsened for a few seconds before he released her. "Get on the dinosaur. We're going back to the ship." He grumbled, walking over to the triceratops. Gently, she rubbed her fingers where his hand had been. "That's going to bruise." She said quietly to herself before following him. She climbed onto the dinosaur's back, wiping the blood from her eye, and he began to drag it by its horns.

"Do you even know where we're going?" She said lowly, not looking at him. "Nope." He said simply, and she let out an exasperated sigh. They weren't exactly in a good place to get lost in. She wiped some of the blood on her face off with the back of her hand. Staring at it for a moment, she decided. She would just bring these people pain, it was best if she left as soon as possible.

"Oi! I've been calling you for the past five minutes!" She jumped and looked at Zoro. "I'm sorry, what?" She blinked, confused. "I asked if you had seen this tree already." He frowned, placing his hand against said tree. She shook her head. "I haven't even been paying attention." She admitted, making him drop his head. "Damn woman." He grumbled, turning away from her. "Huh? Hey!" He said loudly, earning her attention. A few feet away from them was Nami, leaning back against a tree. "Nami! This is great. We were just worrying about how to get back to the ship." He chuckled before starting to drag the dinosaur over to her. Kya froze, not getting that vibe from the usual mouthy woman. "Zoro, wait. I don't think this is safe."

"What are you talking about? It's Nami!" He scoffed at her, before turning to the navigator. "By the way, what are you doing here?" She didn't answer, and stood still causing the swordsman to cock his head to the side. Kya slid off the dead creature and walked over to them. "I told you something was wrong." She muttered, reaching out to touch 'Nami'. Her fingers brushed up against the shirt, and it was cold and hard. "What the-" That's when her body melted into wax; encasing both the pirates' feet and hands.

"Agh! What is this?!" Zoro shouted, falling to his butt. Kya fell on her side next to him, grunting in anger. "You've got to be kidding me! It must be a Devil Fruit or something." She tried pulling her hands out, but it was useless. "That was easier than I thought it would be, Mr. 5." The two looked up to see that blonde woman from Whiskey Peak; the man with explosive snot standing next to her. "Yes, very much so, Ms. Valentine."

"It's you two bozos again. Just leave us the hell alone!" Zoro grumbled at them, banging his waxed encased hands on the ground. Ms. Valentine threw her head back as she cackled loudly. "So rude." She said in between giggles before skipping over to the assassin. "Look at this one. She's already hurt! How pathetic." She said loudly. "You're annoying." Kya glared at the woman, who pouted. "Hmph." She swung her small leg back before sending her knee into Kya's cheek. The pink haired woman had almost forgotten about the insane woman's Devil Fruit; it felt as if a ton of bricks hit her at once. She flew back into Zoro, sending them into a large tree.

"This is so pathetic." She mumbled, panting as she lay over the swordsman's chest. "Damn right it is. Can't do anything with these things!" He said loudly, wriggling his body under her. Mr. 5 walked over to them with a stoic face. "We better get you back to Mr. 3." He said before bending over to pick her by the hair. "Though it would be a hindrance for you to be bothering us the whole time." He took her face and slammed it into the tree, sending her into the world of unconsciousness.

"You bastard! What the hell are you doing!?" Zoro shouted as his crewmate fell to the ground, limp. "Making things easier." Mr. 5 said simple, walking over to him. He picked up his wax covered feet and began to drag him along. "Grab the girl." He ordered the woman, who happily complied. Zoro watched as she dragged his friend's body across the ground, blood smearing on the lush grass from her bleeding head. He frowned deeply; there was no way out of this now.

* * *

Kya opened her eyes slowly and painfully. Her head throbbed and she could still feel some blood flowing from her wounds. The outside world was blurry at first, but she realized she was still in the forest. "Took you long enough, sleeping beauty." She scoffed and succeeded in pushing herself to a sitting position. Sending a glare to Zoro, who was sitting across from her, she noticed someone else here too. "Nami? What are you doing here?"

The _**real**_ navigator was sitting against a tree in between the town, an angry look on her face. "I saw-well I thought I saw, Luffy standing there so I went to talk to him and now here we are! Why the hell are you two here?! You're strong! You could defend yourselves!" She screeched, making the assassin wince. "Look. We were got off guard just like you. We couldn't do anything with this wax on our hands and feet." Zoro tried to explain, but she only turned angrily to Kya.

"And what the hell happened to you?! Your face is covered in blood, your cheek is bruised and so is your arm! How come Zoro is perfectly fine!?"

"My...arm?" She repeated, confused. Looking at her upper arm, she saw the large bruise in the shape of a hand starting to form. "That's….not a big deal." She said simply, but Nami gave her a weird look. "I see you're awake now." The three of them turned to see Mr. 5 walking towards them. "You again." Kya spat, giving him a dirty look. He was unfazed by her threatening glare and grabbed Zoro by the arm. "Mr. 3 wants you all now." He explained, putting the two girls under his arms.

They were pulled into a clearing and thrown to the ground. "Couldn't be a little more gentler?" Kya grumbled, pushing herself up. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. There stood a giant wax cake with a wax pumpkin on a pole covered in candles on it. "Holy hell…"She breathed, blinking a few times to make sure it was real.

"What is that?!" Nami all but screamed, looking around. "Vivi! Aren't you supposed to be with Luffy?" They looked over to see that the princess was currently on the ground also, but only her feet were covered in wax. "That's right but-" Mr. 5 cut her off. "Speaking of that boy. I already killed him." Zoro and Kya scoffed. "You did?" The first mate chuckled lightly as another odd man came over to them. "Welcome to my service set!" He wore a striped, sleeveless vest with a bow tie, glasses, tan pants, and a number three was made with his hair on the top of his head. _'Not very fashionable people are they?'_ Kya deadpanned to herself.

The Baroque Works members pushed the three of them onto the biggest tier of the cake and Mr. 3 used his Devil Fruit powers to sink their feet into it. He melted the wax off of their hands though; which she found odd. The pumpkin with the candles on the top started spinning wildly, flakes of wax falling down on them. She held her hand out, catching the white objects lightly in her palm. They reminded her of snowflakes.

"There is something turning around over our heads." Nami stated, her hands on her hips. "I feel like I am a candle on a cake." Zoro told them, crossing his arms over his chest. Kya snorted from where she stood in between them while Vivi was silent. "I can't move my legs." The navigator complained more. "Just shut up. No one can." Kya growled, placing her hair in a ponytail. Nami's lips twitched as she kept her head low, but didn't answer. "What kind of enemies would let us run around?" Zoro continued talking to himself. "What is coming down here?" Vivi finally gasped.

"How is the taste of my candle service!?" Mr. 3 laughed, his arms open as he stood in front of them. "That candle mist that falls from above will make you become a candle soon! You will be one of my best artworks! Candle dolls that are filled with real souls! Just die for the sake of art!"

"No way! Why do I have to die for your work?!" Nami cried. "Brogi-san do something! Don't stay still, otherwise you will become a candle too!" Kya barely had time to register the fact there were two giants laying on the ground next to them. One was bleeding from the face and chest while the other was held down with wax. She presumed the latter was 'Brogi-san'. "He's really huge indeed." Zoro commented, and she nodded in agreement. "This is my first time seeing a giant."

"No matter what you say it's not gonna work. He was so happy that he cried over his victory. I don't really know if he cried because he is sensitive or he cried over his friend." Mr. 3 was laughing yet again. "He has killed his best friend for hundreds of years with his own hands! He is really stupid, and he didn't realize that his friend was injured when they fought! Anyway, you can't change anything now!"

Kya didn't really know what happened, or what they were talking about, but the man pissed her off immensely. Obviously the two men were on the island together because they were good friends, and something happened to the bleeding giant that had nothing to do with Brogi. "I knew since we started to fight, that Dorry kept some secret from me." The giant spoke, his voice rumbling the ground beneath them. "You knew?! You must be lying! If you knew, why did you fight him? I saw you hit him with no mercy at all!" Mr. 3 declared loudly.

"You don't know the real meaning of this fight. How can you understand that was what my tears were for? A person like you wouldn't understand! He fought with pride in his heart. How can I disgrace him?" Brogi began to break his wax chains. "You want me to destroy the pride of a warrior who was prepared to risk his life?! I completely understand! Because of that, I had to fight him with these hands! Because it's the best and most righteous thing I can do for my best friend Dorry!" He was completely free now, but just as he started to get up, something exploded in his face. "Brogi-san!" Kya's eyes widened; she had just seen the giant, but already she liked him. Whoever hurt him would pay.

"That should stop his babbling." Mr. 5 scoffed, putting his hand down after shooting the giant with a bomb booger. "Brogi-san!" Nami cried as he did not move. "Stupid!" Ms. Valentine laughed loudly while Mr. 5 let out a short 'ha'. A young girl with rosy cheeks, pigtails, a hat, and an outfit with small splotches of paint on it sat quietly on the ground, not talking at all. "I have underestimated the power of that crazy giant. I never thought that he could destroy my candle jacket. I must perfectly bind him! Candle Sword!" Just as it sounded, Mr. 3's arm turned into a large sword made of wax. "Let's see if you can do anything now!" He shouted before stabbing the giant's hand. Blood poured from the wound as Brogi wailed loudly. "Stop that!" Kya shouted loudly, her blood boiling. Swords were placed in all of Brogi's arms and legs, his eyes white from pain. "I you move, you will destroy your arms and legs!" Mr. 3 was cackling as Brogi cried out every time he moved. "That's a very low thing to do." Vivi growled at the man. "I will increase the speed of my Candle Service. You will become my candle dolls sooner!"

Kya brought a finger to her mouth and bit it hard. The pumpkin at the top began to move even quicker, making it hard to breathe. She tried not to breathe as much, but that was a very difficult task. Her eyes focused on Brogi; she was angry, no, infuriated. She hadn't felt like this in a long time, and it was foreign to her. Adding to her boiling rage, Ron came into the clearing next to the giant, who was cursing in agony. She could feel the blood flowing down her hand as her teeth broke the skin. If only she wasn't encased in this damn candle thing.

"I can't breathe!" Nami coughed, her hands grasping her throat stupidly. "If this candle mist goes into our lungs, we will completely become candles!" Vivi cried as Kya removed her wounded finger from her mouth. "That's right! If possible, I want you to suffer! The piece of art should represent suffering and fear. Just become my candle with fear in your hearts!" Mr. 3 laughed. Kya sent him a spine chilling glare, her mouth forming into a deep frown. He made a strange noise before shaking off the fear as Nami yelled, "A piece of art?! That's really disgusting! And you also did that thing to Brogi-san! You won't die in a good way for sure!"

"Just say whatever you want!" He chuckled as the woman turned her attention to the swordsman. "Zoro! Do something!" She cried. He looked at her for a second, but focused his attention on the giant. Kya followed his vision, watching as the poor cried in pain. He looked to be having an argument with himself over something, and slowly he pushed his impaled hand up the sword. She winced at the thought of how much that hurt. "Look at your faces! That's a very good emotion; sadness and suffering! Sadness and torture! This will become my best piece of art!" Mr. 3 was really starting to get on her nerves; if she could get down she would have strangled him.

"I can't move my arms! Don't we have a better plan?!"

Sure enough, the four of their bodies were turning white and hardening at an extremely fast rate. "Our bodies are becoming harder." Vivi added, panicking along with Nami. "Hey! Can you still move?" Zoro spoke up towards the giant. "If you can lose your arms and legs, it's better than dying and not doing anything. I will try to move too." Brogi smiled widely as the swordsman spoke.

"I will cut both my legs off. Don't you want to come and take care of these people with me?" He pulled one of his katana out, holding it high in the air. Kya chuckled lightly at his brave, but idiotic, ways. "Cut off your legs?! Are you kidding?! This is not a time for a stupid joke!" Nami chastised him. "Because it's not a time for a stupid joke. That's why I said that. What about you?" He answered boldly. "What about us?! That's worthless! If you do that, they will be able to catch you anyway!" Vivi warned him loudly.

"If you've never tried, you'll never know. Anyway, we are going to die, why don't we try our best? I don't want to die by those pieces of trash. Am I right?" He smirked at them. "He does have a point." Kya agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you hear that? Is he really going to do it?" Mr. 5 asked, a little surprised. "He's just boasting. Who is crazy enough to do that?" Mr. 3 answered. "I believe he is completely serious." Ron threw in after being silent this whole time. His eyes were fixed upon the swordsman interestingly; Zoro only glared at him.

Brogi let out a deep laugh. "You are a very brave young man! I was about to give up. Okay, I will do it!" Nearly everyone gasped at this. "Are you kidding?! If you lose both of your legs, how are you going to fight them?!" Nami fumed. Zoro held two katana in his hand, looming close to his ankles. "It will be slightly hard to fight while standing on nubs." Kya chuckled to herself. "Well, just the hearts that never give up."

"What's wrong with them?!"

"Have they gone nuts?!"

"Wait a minute!" Vivi cried suddenly. "I will fight with you too!" She declared. "Vivi!" Nami's jaw dropped to the ground. "Okay." Zoro said simply, while Kya nodded at her. "Let's do it!" Brogi cried out. "I will kill you and see if you can do anything about it!" Mr. 3 warned them, but no one paid attention. She watched from her peripheral as Zoro dug his swords into his ankles, blood spilling over the white wax. Just as this happened though, screaming erupted in the forest, and out flew three figures; they just happened to be Luffy, Usopp and Carue. "We've come to crush all of you!" The boys and the duck flew over their opponents heads, crashing into the underbrush.

"What's that?"

The three newcomers brushed themselves off, standing up with immense vigor. "Let's take care of them, Usopp and duck!" The captain called out, holding his hat tightly. "Luffy! Usopp!" Nami cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Carue!" Vivi called to her duck, who gave her a happy quack. Kya chuckled at their stupidity. "Brogi-sama, I will take revenge for you." Usopp declared, pulling his goggles on. "Just crush those guys to the ground and knock them out of here!" Nami told them. "Yes, I will take care of all of them, because they have destroyed the pride of these giants' battle." Luffy growled, cracking his knuckles.

Kya looked around at all the people, ignoring Luffy's discovering of Mr. 3's hair, and noticed something was out of place. "Where's Sanji?" She asked, frowning lightly. She was worried a little, considering a Shichibukai was after them. "Forget about that shit-cook." Zoro grumbled at her. "Eh? You guys are in trouble too?" Luffy asked, blinking a few times. "No." She said simply. "Not really." Zoro added, his katana placed over his shoulder. "There's a lot of blood coming from your legs." Nami gulped; she looked pale and sickly just seeing it. "That's right. I cut off about half my leg." He answered her. It seemed to be true; his pants were now soaked in blood and it started to pool around him. It did look painful to Kya (she winced slightly as he did the deed) but she knew he could manage. "And you say that we're not in trouble!"

"Anyway, can you destroy that pole Luffy? We will take care of the rest." He told his captain with a smirk. "Sure." Just as Luffy was about to do so, Mr. 3 jumped in the way. "I won't allow you to do that." He chuckled lightly. "I don't know what that is, but I will destroy it." Luffy declared as Usopp hopped on Carue. "Sure! Today I am not the same person I used to be!"

"Hurry up before we become candles!"

Suddenly Zoro removed his sword from his shoulder and held it out while his other hand rested on his hip. "What are you doing?" Kya snickered at the strange pose. It slightly reminded her of paintings of kings from the Elizabeth Era. "In case we become candles, I will have a nice pose." He informed her. "This is not time for playing." Vivi warned them, but she was ignored.

Suddenly, paper grew like a plant on the wax up into Kya's hand. She grabbed the end of it wearily; the others were too busy bickering or watching Luffy argue to notice. She unfolded the paper before her eyes, her arms barely able to move under the hardening wax. The words were written neatly and in Ron's script.

'_**You've found a nice crew for yourself.**_

_** I'll be seeing you soon.**_

_** Ron.'**_

The letter burned in her hands, scorching her fingertips. She looked up to see the man walking away through the brush, giving her a curt wave before disappearing. _'How peculiar.'_ She thought, attempting to bring her hands down, but alas her arms were already frozen in hard wax. "Shit." She grumbled to herself, placed in an awkward position.

"Candle Lock!"

Looking back at the scene unfolding in front of her, she frowned. Luffy had been caught by the wax like they had been earlier. "He was caught! Luffy-san!" Vivi cried as the boy tumbled back onto the ground. "What's this? My legs look like a hammer!" He said to himself. "What's that?!" Usopp was currently cowering behind the bushes with Carue. "Hmm..It fits really well." Mr. 3 then charged at him. "You really suck. Next will be your arms! Candle Lock!" The wax shot from his arms, but Luffy quickly dodged it. He wrapped his rubber arms around the sword pinning Brogi's hand down. "I'm sorry giant-san! Rubber-"

"Agh!"

The sword was twisting in the giant's hand painfully, and blood spurted everywhere. "What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro shouted at him. "Stop it you baka! You're hurting him!" Kya growled out, watching as Luffy unwound himself from the wax weapon. She was getting very frustrated with this whole fiasco. If they didn't get out of this soon, they would certainly be dead.

"Hammer!"

The wax on his feet helped him destroy the pole holding up the wax pumpkin and candles. "He destroyed the pole!" Nami cried out happily. Though, it was too early to rejoice. The pumpkin fell down with a bang, even closer to the trapped pirates and princess. "I'm still alive." She breathed, thankful it didn't crush her. "Nothing changed at all." Zoro grumbled. "That was close." Vivi added. "We're still going to die." Kya sighed lastly.

"That's dangerous, why don't you run away?" Luffy asked them from his spot on the giant's hand. "How can we move?!" Nami growled at him. "Why didn't you tell about that? You just told me to destroy that pole!" He said stupidly. "Are you sure to trust our lives in his hands, Mr. Bushido?!" Vivi suddenly shouted at Zoro. "We have no choice. Besides, I can't move my arms anymore."

Kya could say the same thing. Her whole entire body was now frozen in the wax. "I can't move anymore." She complained, chewing the inside of her cheek. "As the candle gets closer, the sooner you will become candles! You idiots, just become my art!" Mr. 3 laughed loudly. "What?! You will become candles?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Luffy turned to them, flabbergasted. "Anyway, just destroy these candles, Luffy!"

"I won't allow you to get involved!" Mr. 3 said. "Candle Harpoon!" A wax harpoon was aiming straight for Luffy when suddenly Usopp cried from the bushes: "Explosive Bullet!" He shot his bullet at Mr., 3, but Mr. 5 jumped in front of him and…swallowed it?

"That would cause some really bad indigestion." Zoro chuckled to himself as the bullet exploded in the officer's stomach. "That was a terrible joke." Kya scoffed, earning a peripheral glare from the swordsman.

"Tastes bad." Mr. 5 let smoke escape from his mouth. "You must use the low quality gun powder." He sneered as Usopp shook. "This is bad! This thing is really quick!" Nami mumbled, mentioning towards the pumpkin candle spinning quickly. "I'm lucky I have this nice pose." Zoro smiled to himself. "There are worse ways to die." Kya attempted to shrug, but her body was frozen to the spot. It wasn't helping that her nose itched incredibly bad.

"Luffy-san! Please hurry up!"

"Okay! I have to destroy that pumpkin right?" Luffy had a serious face on now, realizing his friends were in danger, and sent his arms back. "Rubber…" Mr. 3 jumped in front of him. "That's not going to work! Candle Wall!" A giant wall of wax shot up the size of the tower, blocking Luffy's attack. "Bazooka!"

"You! Would you stop getting involved!" Luffy grumbled at his opponent. "I'm the one who's supposed to say that. You'd better not get involved with my art process. Candle Lock!" Another block of candle was shot by Mr. 3, but Luffy seemed to have a plan. He encased one hand in the wax, and chuckled like a demon. "I got a hammer now." Mr. 3 put up another candle wall, trying to block Luffy's hammer but it broke straight through the barrier, sending the Baroque Work's officer flying. "Ah finally." Kya breathed. She thought he would have been quicker, but it didn't matter anymore; they would be free soon. "Great job! Hurry up and destroy this thing, Luffy!" Nami said happily.

"No."

"Stop fooling around and hurry up!" She then growled at the boy, who standing with a blank expression on his face. "No." he said again. "Something isn't right…" Kya trailed off, looking around for the cause of such insanity. "Hey Luffy! This isn't a time to play!" Zoro shouted at him. "Please, Luffy-san." Vivi begged, her voice cracking from lack of oxygen. "What should I do? I don't feel like I want to help you." Luffy said darkly. "What are you talking about?" Kya narrowed her eyes, at the boy, seeing the cause of such change in character behind him.

"Color Trap."

* * *

**It's been so long and I'm so sorry. D: school is insane, I got a new puppy and lack of motivation have all been a problem lately. But I promise everyone I will have a Halloween special out on Halloween. :) **


	22. Halloween

**Halloween Special **

It was surprisingly cool today; just the perfect weather. Kya leaned over the railing, watching the blue waters crash lightly against the boat. A nice breeze rolled through, sending chills up her spine. She huddled closer into her argyle sweater. Although it was nice outside, she still didn't like to be cold. Her gray jeans and knee high boots made things a little bit easier.

"We'll be stopping at the next island in an hour! Shut up!"

Nami's banshee shrieks always seemed to lessen the good mood on the Merry. "But I want to go on an adventure now!" Kya turned to see Luffy pulling at Nami's arm, a pout on his young face. The navigator's eyes lit up upon seeing the pink haired girl. "Neh Luffy? I have to go check my maps, why don't you talk to Kya?" The orange hair girl said slyly before slipping from her captain's grasp and running off.

The young boy sulked his way over to Kya, who was cursing a certain orange haired female. "Kya. I'm bored." He muttered, drooping his head. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" She asked him warily. "I want to go to an island."

"Well, I can't just make an island magically appear." She chuckled at him. He sighed, pulling his head up to look out in the ocean. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he jumped for joy. "What is-" Before she could finish her sentence, his rubber arm wrapped itself around her torso and arm, pulling her close to him. "Island!" He shouted, flinging the two of them across the ocean.

There were many things wrong with this; so many things she could say and do to this idiot she called a captain. She was pressed against his side, closing her eyes tightly out of anger and the sheer force of the wind. When they landed (or should she say if?) she was going to kill him. It seemed like they flew forever until finally the two tumbled onto land; Luffy laughing his head off and Kya on her knees, panting for air. She growled as she got to her feet, turning to glare at him. Before she could yell though, she caught a glimpse of the town.

The bleak town was more like something someone imagined in a nitemare. The brick houses that lined the grey cobblestone streets were covered in ghosts and goblins and witches. Pumpkins covered every corner and lights were strung above them. The few people out and about were wearing costumes from fairies to witches. On a hill behind the small town was mansion, three times larger than the town in a whole.

"So cool!" Luffy cried, grabbing the assassin's hand and dragging her over to a person in the street. The man was a werewolf in a plaid shirt and ripped shorts. His entire body was covered and fur and even had a muzzle. _'He worked really hard on that.'_ Kya thought grimly, hoping the man wasn't as crazy as he looked. "Hey, you!" Luffy shouted, getting the man's face. "Your costume is so cool!"

"It's not a costume!" The man growled, and Luffy just laughed. "He's so funny! Kya, isn't he funny?" Luffy held his gut as she clenched his hand tightly. "Luffy, shut up. We should go find the others." She told him sternly. The werewolf turned and looked at her. "You seem more sensible than him. We have a costume shop down the street for visitors, I suggest you go get one so you're not punished." He nodded at her before continuing his way down the street.

Luffy was still laughing his head off as she pulled him down the street where the werewolf said the costume shop was. On the way there, they saw many strange things (all of which Luffy pointed and laughed at). There were witches with green skin and long noses; a tree with skeletons hanging by nooses on its branches; a fat lady walking her equally fat son on a leash. "This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder." She mumbled to herself as they walked into the unusually large building.

At the counter was a woman with red hair and a patchwork dress. Her skin was a blue grey and had stitches covering must of it. She had her hand on a skeleton man's face. A pin striped suit cloaked his skeletal body, his bone fingers clasped around her hand. A ghost dog with a bright red nosed was at his side and turned to bark at the two pirates.

"Jack, you need to hide." The woman said quietly, looking at the man seriously. He frowned deeply, looking at the pirates for a moment then back to her. "I don't think they'll do us any harm, Sally." He said as Kya dragged the awestruck Luffy up to the counter.

"Sorry to interrupt but we need costumes." She said, looking at the two strange characters. "You're costumes really good!" Luffy shouted, pointing at the skeleton man. "My name is Jack Skellington and I am-was…the leader of this town." He trailed off sadly. "Oh Jack, it wasn't your fault." The woman said lightly.

"What happened?" Luffy blinked at them. Jack sighed, removing the woman's hand from his face. He balled his bone hands into a fist angrily. "That horrible monstrosity, Oogey Boogey, took the town right out from under my nose! He threatened to hurt Sally and the others if I didn't let him take my place. Now he's banished me and imposed horrible rules on poor Halloween Town."

Everything was quiet for a while as the aura in the room changed. Kya didn't really care about their issue; she just wanted to get back on the Going Merry, but she knew Luffy would want to help someone in trouble. "Were you a good leader?" The straw hat clad boy asked, his face serious. "Everyone loved him! He was the greatest leader we had ever seen!" The woman exclaimed. "Now, now Sally. No need to-"

"We'll help you get your town back."

The other three people in the room stared at the boy with wide eyes. "What?!" They all yelled together. "Excuse us for one second." Kya grabbed her captain and pulled him to the side. "What do you think you're doing?! We don't have time to help them." She frowned deeply. He just laughed, placing a hand on her head. "Don't worry. We won't be long."

After discussing the matter further (Luffy won, of course) the woman, Sally, offered to get them their costumes for free. Jack had slid down behind the counter so no one could see him through the windows. "The Boogey Man lives in the mansion, right?" Luffy asked from the stool he was sitting on. "It's Oogey Boogey. But yes, he does. Anyone who goes in won't come out alive. Every corner is a trap. If you get caught in one of his games, you're done for."

Just then, the door open and in walked two men. One of them was extremely tall with brown hair down to the end of his neck. He was a muscular skinny, but not as muscular as the guy next to him. He was shorter with short brown hair; judging by the lines on his face, Kya figured he was an angry person.

"Hello uh, we're from the World Government. We're here to check a few things out." The tall one said to the two pirates. Kya scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're nothing close to World Government." She said simply. He looked taken back, and turned to the other man for support. "Are you guys pirates?" Luffy asked, stuffing his face with food (when did he get food?).

"No! We're not-"

"I found some costumes for you guys. Any human who comes to town is required to wear a costume." Sally came out into the front with a bundle of clothes in her arms. She looked at the two men for a second. "I'm sorry! Do you two need clothes?" She asked sweetly. "No ma'am. We're under orders of the World Government." The short one said, coming up to the counter. "Wh-Why?!"

"We've gotten word of some pirates on the island and we'd like to check it out." The tall one said politely. "Oh." Sally looked at Kya and Luffy quickly. "I've heard no such thing." The two men sighed. "Okay. Thank you for your time."

The two men left the store awkwardly without goodbyes. "They didn't seem like World Government…" Sally murmured, handing the pirates their costumes. "Oogey has said that any newcomer has to wear a costume or else they'll be killed." She said as they inspected the outfits. Luffy was a jester, which fit perfectly for him. He had a green and yellow jester hat with bells at the ends, a green and yellow shoe, green pants and a yellow top with white ruffles on the collar and end of the sleeves.

Kya, on the other hand, was holding a princess costume awkwardly. It was a beautiful gold and white flowing gown. It had off the shoulder sleeves and the top part was white corset with gold strings in the back. The skirt was white with a beautiful gold color in the middle. She chewed her lip staring at the gold heels and crystal tiara with it.

"It was the only thing in your size." Sally admitted, a little embarrassed. Kya smiled lightly at her. "It's okay….I'll manage with it." She said, albeit a little unsure about how she'd get around in the contraption. "C'mon Kya-chan! It'll be fun!" Luffy laughed as he skipped over to the changing room. "Ya, ya. Don't get too carried away." She grumbled, following him. Somehow, this wouldn't be as fun as he made it seem.

After the two of them got dressed, they, awkwardly, strolled out of the store. They promised to go to the mansion once they found the rest of the Strawhats. "Do you think they found this place?" Luffy asked, scratching his cheek. "Of course. I just don't know how far the port is from here. Since we obviously didn't come that way." Kya glared at him slightly, pulling her dress up so she wouldn't trip over it.

He opened his mouth to say something when a loud scream echoed around the town. "That sounded familiar…." She trailed off. Her captain nodded slightly as another scream rang out. "Ah!" He cried suddenly. "Usopp!"

They ran down a few alleyways until they came across the rest of the crew staring horridly at man covered in guck. Usopp was currently cowering behind Zoro, though he knew full well the swordsman would not bother with the creature.

"Kya-chwan~!"

Sanji caught sight of the pink haired girl in her strange get up and swayed his way over to her. He bent on one knee, grabbing her hand and kissing it lightly. "My, my. Kya. This dress adorns your body so wonderfully. It's elegant and highlights-" That's when Nami strode over and kicked the blonde man in the head. "Shut up Sanji." She grumbled, looking at the other two. "What's with the outfits?"

"Long story. Look. Luffy promised some guy he'd beat up the mean boss guy. So let's just go and get this over with." Kya sighed, rubbing her temples. She could feel a migraine coming on just as Zoro spoke. "You look ridiculous." He chuckled and she glared at him. "Just…shut up."

"A-Anyways! Who is this boss guy?" Usopp interrupted. Luffy smiled at his sharpshooter happily. "The Boogey Man!" He exclaimed, thrusting his arms into the air. "His name is Oogey Boogey and he lives in the mansion at the top of the hill. Jack said there are traps set everywhere up there so we need to be careful."

"The Boogey Man!" Nami and Usopp cried together, their jaws dropping to the ground. Kya sighed and pointed at the mansion. "It's a mansion. Than man's name is Oogey Boogey. How terrible can it be?" She told them. "Kya-chwan~. You're so smart." Sanji cooed, grabbing her arm. "Oi, stupid Ero-cook. Stop feeling on women." Zoro grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "What was that Marimo?" The blonde chef turned to his crewmate angrily.

"Get off her you pervert."

The two pressed their foreheads together and began shouting incoherent things at each other. Luffy laughed at them, holding his gut in. "You guys are pirates aren't you?" The crew turned around to see the two 'World Government' officers behind them.

"It's you two again." Luffy stated the obvious. The two nodded slowly and looked at each other. "Well, uh. You see." The tall one laughed nervously. "We're not really from the World Government." Kya scoffed at that. "We….hunt things that, well the best way to describe them is as paranormal things."

"Pa-Paranormal?" Usopp repeated, grabbing onto Nami's arm tightly. "Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, you get the idea." The shorter one said, shrugging his shoulders casually. "Gh-Ghosts?" Nami grabbed Usopp's hands as her eyes went wide. "So pretty much everything here in this town." Kya concluded and they nodded. "We usually get rid of these kinds of things, but this town hasn't particularly done any harm, except for Oogey Boogey of course."

"Why are you so calm about this?!"

Everyone looked at Nami and Usopp out of the corner of their eye, but chose to ignore them. Luffy smiled brightly as he stepped forward and held out his hand. "I'm Luffy. That's Kya, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji." The tall one shook his hand. "Sam." The shorter one grabbed it afterwards. "Dean."

* * *

Night fell eventually, and the group of then met up with Jack on the outskirts of the mansion lawn. "Be careful in there. I have no idea what lies behind those doors." The skeleton admitted warily. "It's fine, we'll just split up into groups." Dean suggested, looking at Sam (who they found out was his younger brother). "Good idea! Zoro and Kya, you're with me!" Luffy grinned, pulling the two close to him. "I call Nami-swan then!" Sanji twirled over to the woman, who simply punched him in the face. "I'll go with you guys." Sam insisted. "So that leaves us three." Dean punched Usopp in the arm making Jack laugh; the poor boy was quivering in his boots and couldn't stand still.

The brothers handed weapons out to each groups; guns with rock salt bullets, bibles, machetes. "I already have swords." Zoro told them when they reached Luffy's group. "Three of them to be exact." He patted each of them proudly. "Nice." Dean gave an approving nod before walking away. "Show off." Kya sighed next to Zoro. He glared at her but said nothing as Jack began leading them into the mansion.

It didn't help anything that there were bugs crawling on every inch of the ground. She tried her best to maneuver around the grotesque creatures, but she couldn't stop stepping on a few. "This is disgusting." She complained, jumping over a particularly large worm. "You're slowing us down." Zoro complained, pulling her arm. In turn, she tripped over her dress and would have fallen on her on her face if he had not been holding her arm. "Clutz."

The crew eventually reached the front door of the mansion in one piece. As Sam began to pick the lock, Dean handed out several guns. "These are loaded with rock salt and silver bullets; ghosts disappear with the rock salt and werewolves die with the silver bullets of course. If you run into a vampire, just cut his head off and you should be fine." Usopp and Nami whimpered loudly at the back of the group. Sanji let the smoke out of his mouth as he put his cigarette out. "Maybe we'll find some food in here that we can stock up on." He said as he cocked one of the guns.

The lock clicked and the door slid open with a creak. "W-We can stay out here." Usopp wailed, falling to his knees. "Y-Ya! We'll keep lookout." Nami cried next to him. "Get up." Dean groaned, kicking their backs which pushed them inside. "We need to hurry up and get this over with before daylight breaks."

The foyer opened up into the main room (which was also covered in bugs, much to Kya's dismay) and two sets of stair cases. One led up to the next floor while the other went to the basement. "Alright. This is where we split up." Jack handed Kya and Sam a Den Den Mushi. "We'll use that to communicate if anything happens." He nodded to them. "Yosh! Let's go!" Luff pumped a fist in the air before heading to the staircase that lead to the basement. "Shouldn't we have a plan or something first?" Kya muttered, fixating the two guns on her hip. "No." Zoro answered simply, holding two of his swords.

The bells on Luffy's hat jingled as they descended into the dark basement. "I have a bad feeling about this." She admitted lightly. "You scared?" She could hear the smirk on Zoro's words. "Ah!" Multiple thumps and jingles followed each other as Luffy tripped and fell down the staircase. It seemed like he was falling forever, but eventually he landed with an 'umph' at the bottom. "What the hell…..why is this staircase so long?"

"Jeesh Luffy, could you be any louder?" Zoro sighed as they reached the floor. The only light in the room was a small window just under the ceiling. Luffy didn't answer him, but a hand was placed upon her shoulder. "Don't scare me like that!" She jumped, hitting whoever was next to her. "Damnit, it wasn't me!" The owner of the hand leaned forward, letting its tongue trail the shell of her ear. She let out a yelp, throwing herself to the side and kicking the person in the process. It made a hissing sound as it flew back into the wall where the window was.

The person was an average height man with short, dark black hair and green eyes. He hissed at her, showing off the fangs protruding from his top and bottom gums. "Oh shit. Zoro!" She reached back, grabbing for the swordsman but he was gone. The vampire lunged at her, grabbing her by the neck. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his breath fanning over her neck.

She struggled in his iron grip, but failed to remove herself from it. He carried her away from the light of the window, and into what seemed like darker darkness. He dropped her onto the ground with a thud, and the sound of light switch echoed after. The room illuminated with bright lights and sounds; a giant roulette table lay in the midst of the flashing lights. Tied to one side was Zoro and on the other was Luffy. Their mouths were gagged and hands and feet tied together. The vampire grabbed her by her hair and dragged her over to the table. She looked at the two boys for help, but neither of them could do anything.

"Soru." She disappeared, making the vampire man jump in surprise. "That little bitch." He said gruffly before she hit him in the back of the head. He flew forward and hit the table with a loud crack. Quickly she ran over to Zoro, attempting to remove one of his swords. He squirmed and made muffled yells at her for this action. "Look, I have to kill this thing." She grumbled, removing the one with the white hilt.

"Look, I don't want to have to hurt your pretty little face…." She turned around to face the man. "…so put the sword down, okay?" He placed his hands out in front of him. She pointed the sword at him as she bent back down next to Zoro. "Don't move." She said darkly, attempting to untie the swordsman. The vampire nodded and held up his hands, but kept his eyes fixed on a corner of the room. She pushed him over and undid the ropes binding his hands quickly.

"Took you long enough." He complained after removing his gag. "Look, I just saved your ass. Don't be so snotty." She told him, still pointing the gleaming sword at the vampire. "Alright, you got one of your friends free. Now, why don't we just compromise on this?"

Apparently, compromise means adding three more vampires to this mess. About three more of his friends strode out form the darkness, smirks adorning their pale faces. Luffy wiggled in his bindings as a muscular guy picked him up and threw him of his shoulder casually. "We'll just take this one, and meet you along the way." The first guy smiled at them before leaving with the Luffy and the muscular guy. "This is not good." Zoro said, scratching his face. "No shit." Kya moved next to him as the vampires began to herd the two against the wall. Zoro jumped forward, running up to the smallest of the vampires who was a little woman with short blonde hair. He grabbed one of his katana and went for her neck, but she pushed him away like a ragdoll.

Kya took this chance and jumped behind the vampire woman and managed to slice her head off with ease. The next one was a guy with pale blonde hair and blue eyes, who jumped next to her. He frowned deeply at her as his pale and clawed hands reached for her neck. "Nice try." She scoffed, sending the blade through his neck.

She turned to Zoro to see him struggling to get up from that blow. "Come on. We need-" The sword was knocked from her hand and her throat nearly collapsed from the crushing hold of the vampire. He had long black hair and bright green eyes; his face was one of anger and pain. She grabbed and clawed at his wrist as he held her up against the wall by her neck.

"Such a pretty face." The vampire hiked her dress up and ran a hand over her soft thigh. She kicked and squirmed but he simply pressed her against the wall harder. "No, no." He tsked, his hand clasping her neck tighter. She coughed and he used his free hand to grab her wrist and bring it to his face. She could feel the warmness of his mouth pressed against her cold skin. His sharp teeth pricked at the surface, drawing little drops of blood. She thought of all the possible outcomes that could happen if he bite her; she would have her blood drained and die or she would become a vampire and Zoro would most likely kill her. As his teeth sunk below the surface, she closed her eyes tightly; praying to whatever deity that was out there to do something.

It seemed like ages, but her prayers were finally answered. The sound of a sword cutting through air echoed around her and she heard a loud thump. Her body was released and before she could slump to the ground, someone caught her. Slowly opening one eye, she came face to face with Zoro's green hair. "Took you long enough." She peered over him to see a headless body lying on the floor, answering her question. The swordsman let her go, turning to her bloody wrist. "You cause too many problems." He grumbled at her, removing his bandana and wrapping it tightly around her wound. "Let's just hope you don't turn into a vampire." She pushed him jokingly and went to get the tossed sword. "We need to find Luffy."

The basement became dimly lit again, and she held onto the fabric of his shirt as he led the way. "You know, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let you lead." She said, searching the dark corridor for any clues. "Shut up! I think I hear something anyways." They stopped for a moment, listening to the nothing but the creaking of the wooden floors. "Nevermind. Maybe it was-" The floor opened up beneath them, and the two began to tumble through a small tube. Zoro landed on his back on a small mattress with a thump, Kya falling after him and landing on his stomach. He grunted angrily, pushing the small woman off him.

The room was lit with four candles hanging from the ceiling; bugs crawled everywhere in the damp and clammy room. "Disgusting." She cried, jumping away from any of the grotesque creatures. "C'mon." He grabbed her arm, pulling her towards a wall. "Don't drag me out here with those things!" She nearly tripped over her dress again, his hold on her wrist saving her from falling again. She had lost count to how many times the swordsman had saved her ass this whole time, but it didn't matter. He would never let it go regardless.

She sighed and leaned up against the wall. "Why the hell did Luffy agree to do this?" She muttered as he patted the stones next to her. "Maybe there's some sort of secret pathway…" He trailed off, walking to the other side of the room. She sighed, looking at the ground around her to make sure none of the bugs had crawled its way up her dress. She was genuinely pissed with how things turned out; Luffy was missing, she could possibly be a vampire, the others were missing, and they still hadn't found Boogey.

Leaning back a bit further, she suddenly felt the wall shift behind her. "Shit." She whispered, turning and pushing it a bit further. "Found it." He came up behind her, rubbing her head. "Good work princess." She shot him a look, which he simply ignored. The opening of the secret pathway sent a wave cold air onto them, making her shiver. "Grab a candle, maybe Luffy is this way."

He led the way again with a candle in one hand and a sword in the other. She held onto his shirt again (she could barely see an inch in front of her face) and one of his swords in the other; occasionally tripping over the damn dress. "Please stop before you kill us both" Zoro groaned, practically dragging her along the dark corridor. She huffed, pulling up her dress slightly. "Shut up okay."

Light began to flood the hallway before them along with the sound of laughter and music. "What do you think it is?" he asked her, creeping towards the strange sounds. "Luffy? Boogey maybe?" She grasped the sword tightly. She wasn't exactly prepared for any more craziness (aka vampires or werewolves).

There was voice that was singing something in a low, creepy tone; one that neither of them recognized. She crept under him, peering over the corner of the wall. Dean, Sam, Jack, Usopp, Luffy, Nami, and Sanji were all tied to cross like planks, robot like men holding guns spinning around in circles in front of them. Nearest to her was a radioactive, star shaped, beanbag looking…thing? He had bugs crawling out from his body everywhere, making her gag.

"So?" He questioned as she turned back to him. "All the others are tied up, about to be shot, and a beanbag is talking." She summed it up for him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "A…beanbag?" He repeated, and she shrugged. "It's what the thing looks like okay. Now come on. Are we doing this or not?" He didn't hesitate at all with his answer. "Let's do this."

The two pirates jumping into the lit room brought relief to the faces of the tied up victims. The beanbag looking guy (presumably Oogey Boogie) turned around, frowning at the scene before him. "I see we've missed some." He growled, crossing his arms. "Boys!" At the call, four werewolves scurried up next to their master. "Get them!"

Kya immediately dropped the sword and reached for the gun with the silver bullets. "This is the only way to kill them!" She told the green haired man next to her as the werewolves began to charge. "How the hell am I supposed to kill them when I don't have a gun?!" He shouted back at her. "Hold them off!"

One of the werewolves tackled Zoro, sending them into the back wall. "Shit." She cursed as the remaining three surrounded her. Cocking the gun, she aimed at the heart of the one in front of her. He roared out, sending saliva all around him before running towards her. The gunshot echoed around the whole room and everyone stared as the werewolf stopped in his tracks. Blood began to fall to the floor in small droplets before he completely fell over to the ground, dead. "That was a lot easier than I thought." She chuckled lightly to herself.

"Not exactly helping!"

Zoro was wrestling with the werewolf, and he was barely able to hold him down. "I can't get a shot! I'll hit you too!" She cocked the gun and pointed it at them. "Then shoot me dammit!" He tried holding up the supernatural creature, but it only pinned him to the ground. She chewed her cheek; she just couldn't shoot him, could she? Even if she was, she took too long. Another one of the werewolves jumped on her, knocking the gun from her hand and sending it to the wall.

"Zoro! Get the gun!" She cried out as the back of her dress was torn and her back mutilated. Zoro watched as his friend was nearly cut open and gutted, finding the strength to push the werewolf off him. He nearly crawled to grab the gun, and quickly shot at one of the werewolves. It didn't hit his heart, but it still knocked him to the ground, howling in pain. He ran over to Kya, kicking the beast off her. He handed her the gun, knowing she was the better shot, and the fiend was easily killed.

This left only one more werewolf and Oogey Boogey. Zoro reached down and helped her to her feet. Her back was drenched in blood and in immense pain. Her hand was shaking lightly as she held the gun; her body slowly giving out. "Well. Two against two." She laughed slightly. Oogey frowned angrily, glaring at the two werewolves on the ground. "Don't get so cocky." He grumbled, walking backwards. Light began to shine through a small window in the back of the room; it was already dawn. "We still have plenty of time to play." There was a loud click, and the robots with the guns began to spin a lot faster.

"Take out the werewolf, I got the beanbag guy." Zoro informer her, taking off. She frowned at his decision, but turned to the hairy man in front of her. He was licking his shrinking teeth; the night had ended and they would soon return to normal. "Not anytime soon." She breathed, holding up the pistol. With a bang, he was gone. She focused back on the scene in front of her; Zoro had all three of his swords now, and was staring up at Oogey holding onto a rope. What the beanbag man didn't seem to realize was that his string was attached to the spinning robots.

"I guess this is goodbye." Zoro said simply, sheathing his swords. Oogey looked at him strangely, then suddenly noticing the reason of his demise. "Cut the string! Please!" He cried, but it was too late. His string unraveled quickly; bugs fell to the ground, crying out sadly. The string had gotten caught in the robots, short-circuiting them. Zoro chuckled lightly. "That wasn't too bad." He placed a hand on his head and turned to Kya. "Shut up." She grumbled, falling to her knees. She'd be sure to kill him and Luffy later for this.

* * *

They stayed at the island for a few days after the whole ordeal, giving them enough time to enjoy the food and well needed rest. The crew was loading up the Merry with food and other supplies for the journey to the next island.

"Will you guys be okay on food?" Sally asked, leaning into Jack. "Unless Luffy eats it all in the next day, we should be fine." Nami explained, making them chuckle. "Bye Skellington-san! I had fun!" Luffy laughed, hanging off the side and waving. "Thank you for all your help, Straw Hats! We owe you!" Jack told them, holding a hand over his heartless chest.

"Thanks for the help too." Sam scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "No problem." Kya came over to the railing with the others, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you know, the way you kicked ass was pretty hot." Dean said in his deep voice, smirking at her. "Don't talk to my Kya-chwan like that!" Sanji practically jumped off the boat to kill Dean, had it not been for Zoro holding him by his shirt. "Chill out ero-cook." He grumbled deeply. "What was that marimo?!"

Ignoring the bickering men, the crew turned back to the townspeople. "Hope everything goes well for you!" Kya smiled lightly and waved at them. "Don't let that Boogie Man come back!" Luffy called out, making them laugh. "See you again sometime!"

The sea was calm today, a nice breeze rolling through. "Hey, Luffy." Sanji blew smoke from his lips. "What?" The captain was sitting on a barrel, clapping his feet together. "Where's Usopp?" The question brought new light to the crews' eyes: they hadn't seen the long nosed man in a while. "If we left him, we left him." Zoro shrugged his shoulder carelessly. "We can't just leave Usopp!" Luffy jumped off his barrel quickly, a frown on his face. "We can't just go back and look for him!" Nami screeched in their ears.

A quiet banging sound came from behind Luffy, followed by yelling. The lid of the barrel he had just been sitting on popped off and out clambered Usopp. He panted heavily, hanging over the side of the barrel. "Have you been in there the whole time?" Zoro shook his head at the stupidity. "Since….yesterday."

"Why were you in the barrel in the first place?"

"I was scared!" He jumped out of it. "There were monsters everywhere and I hid in the barrel and then they closed it!" He cried, making Luffy laugh. "It doesn't matter anymore, we're on to the next adventure!" He placed a hand on the sharpshooter's shoulder. "If it's anything like the one we just had, count me out." Kya told him quickly. That was enough adventure for her; well, until the next island of course.

* * *

**I'm sorry this is like two weeks late. D: I just got my power back on a few days ago and things have been a mess since the hurricane. I'll try and update more often though!**


	23. Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

**Chapter 22**

"**If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are a lot better off than humans." – James Herriot**

* * *

"We don't have time Luffy! Hurry up and destroy this stupid pumpkin!"

"I know."

"If you know, then do it!"

Kya chewed her lip as Luffy refused to help them out. The young girl on the blanket was the reason behind Luffy's failure to destroy the pumpkin. "I know, but I don't want to do it." His voice was stoic and his face held little emotion. There was a loud explosion to the side, gaining her attention. Usopp was running away from Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine along with Carue.

"Ms. Goldenweek." Vivi muttered to the side. "It must be you!" The young girl with pig tails began to munch on a cracker. "Color Trap. Black is the color of betrayal. If any person is painted with this color, he won't care about his friends' words." She said in a light voice. "What does that mean?! What happened?" Nami shouted. "She is a portrait painter. She can create a feeling by colors. The imagination of color that she has painted will affect a person's mind." Vivi explained to her.

"Affect a person's mind? This is bad because hypnotism or something like that will completely affect an innocent person like him!" Zoro's face twitched as he spoke. "How annoying." Kya sighed, her body itching awkwardly from the wax. "If he can step away from that sign, then he should be fine!" Nami concluded. "Step away from that sign!" Luffy made no attempt to get off the paint under his feet.

"That's not gonna work. Luffy, don't step out of that sign!" Kya called out to him. Nami looked at her angrily. "Why would you say that?!" She screeched as the boy began to step away from the paint. "I don't want to help you at all. I won't listen to you." He spoke as he stepped completely off. "So, that's why." Zoro hummed to himself.

"Eh?! What happened to me!? I will help you now!" Luffy grabbed his head before busting out into laughter. "But first let me laugh!" He cried out in between giggles. "What's wrong now?!" It seemed like the pirates and the princess were going to die at any rate now. "Color Trap. Yellow is the color of fun. He can't move now." Ms. Goldenweek said over the boy's laughter, holding out her paintbrush. There was a huge yellow stain Luffy's shirt as he began to roll around, still laughing.

"She put a color on his shirt! Luffy! Take off your shirt!" Kya tried to call out, but he could not hear her over his laughter. "This is bad. We don't have much time left." Zoro grumbled, just as annoyed as she. Just then Usopp and Carue came running through the middle of the mess, Mr.5 and Ms. Valentine still chasing after them. "Carue!" Vivi called to her duck as they ran straight into Luffy. "Look! Usopp and Carue hit Luffy and made the sign fade away!" Nami pointed out as he stood to his feet. "Ouch! I was caught in that trap again." He turned angrily to Ms. Goldenweek. "Hey you! This is enough!"

"Yellow is the color of fun. You must have had a good time, right?" She asked in her strange voice. "Shut up! Are you crazy or something?!" He turned towards his crew and Vivi. "Anyways, I have to destroy this pumpkin. Gomu Gomu no-" He stretched his arms back as she began to paint another symbol. "Color Trap. Red is the color of target."

"Bazooka!"

Luffy's hands dropped straight into the ground where the red target was, but not destroying it. "What are you trying to hit?!" Nami screeched, making Kya sigh. "Yelling at him isn't going to make this better." She muttered; things were already looking down at the moment, saving them was going to be a difficult task.

"I won't forgive you! Just get out of my face!" Luffy cried out, stretching his arms back again. "Gomu Gomu no…Bazooka!" His arms went straight into the ground, again. "Is that fun?" Ms. Goldenweek asked him, seemingly amused. "This is bad. He can't beat her. His power means nothing to her." Nami finally admitted.

"I will mix this color for you. Yellow, the color of fun, mixed with blue, the color of sadness." Ms. Goldenweek sent another sign on the back of Luffy's shirt. "Color Trap. Green is the color of peace." Suddenly, Luffy was sitting with the young girl on her blanket; eating and drinking tea with her. "This tea is really delicious."

"Are you crazy?!"

"What will be the result of this?" Nami asked, making Zoro chuckle. "Result? I told you to pose nicely. I'm sorry for you." He told her. "This is not funny." Vivi scolded him. "We were doomed to begin with." Kya was beginning to get really frustrated. She couldn't move her finger anymore, and she was starting to lose feeling in her legs and torso.

Explosions echoed around them as Usopp and Carue walked into the clearing. Things were beginning to get quiet for her as the wax began to build up around her head. Her eyesight was giving way, and she could barely breathe. _'It can't end this way.'_ She choked as the last bit of air was taken from her.

_A hand smacked her hard across the face, sending her to the ground. "I thought I told you to stop going into the forest." Ron stared down at a 10 year old Kya angrily. "You'll have to be put on probation again." He sighed, scratching his cheek. "No! I don't want to go back on probation! I do everything you ask! I'm not doing anything bad I swear!" She screamed back at him. It had been nearly a year since they had taken over her home; the hell they put her through could be compared to the brutality of Impel Down. His hand went to smack her again, but she grabbed him quickly. Before he could react, she slammed his wrist down against her knee, a loud snap echoing the forest around them. _

"_Stop it!" A young boy, about three, came running over to them, tears streaming down his face. Kya realized Ron's hand and grabbed the boy, coddling him in her arms. "Stopping fighting, Kya-sama." He cried into her shoulder. Ron growled, holding his broken wrist angrily. "I'll get you for this you little b-"_

"_Now, now! Ron, don't be so rude in front of the children." Niro came into view, his snow white hair shining out from his dark surroundings. Sora was by his side; he was a spitting image of his father with the same face and red eyes, only he had brown hair. "She broke my wrist!" Ron spat, glaring daggers at the girl, who held tightly onto the younger boy. _

"_You're scaring Lee, stop!" She cried angrily, making Niro laugh lightly. "It's always my best student who causes the most problems." He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her long pink hair. "You'll make a great member of CP9 one day." _

Kya awoke, coughing her lungs out. It took her a moment to realize that her surroundings where on fire. "Let's go!" She was hoisted to her feet quickly by Zoro, whose shirt was lightly charred. "What the hell happened?" She coughed. "Ask questions later, we need to get out here!" He pulled her through the flames, dodging debris until they heard noises of fighting.

Pulling into the clearing, they saw Usopp being (albeit strangely) attacked by Mr. 5. Zoro released her arm, leaving her to find a way over to the rest of the crew without being burnt. "Fire Sword!" He used the surrounding fire on his swords to easily finish off Mr. 5. "Fire swords aren't that bad." He noted as she maneuvered her way over to the others.

The ground rumbled as Brogi managed to push himself up into a sitting position. "So, to be alive is the happiest thing in the world right?" Zoro smirked up at the giant. "You're right." He laughed, looking at his dead friend near him. "There are two more enemies?" He asked, earning some strange looks. "What happened anyways?" Nami's shirt had been burnt off completely, leaving her in her bra. _'At least Sanji isn't here to swoon.'_ Kya chuckled to herself as Usopp partially explained what happened.

Luffy hadn't returned from fighting Mr. 3, so everyone ended up getting comfortable. Kya was in charge of taking care of wounds, and she was currently working on Zoro's. Usopp and Brogi were talking while Nami and Vivi were discussing plans for getting to Alabasta. "You're such an idiot." The assassin grumbled as she cleaned his nearly cut off ankles. "I was trying to free myself."

"How would you have fought? On your knees?"

He pursed his lips and turned away from her. "Maybe." He said quietly, making her chuckle. "Idiots." She began to stitch up his left leg with the poor string she had. "Sorry." He muttered, clearing his throat. She raised an eyebrow at him. "For what exactly?"

"Your arm." The bruise had actually gotten pretty massive. She wasn't angry though; his hands were rather large compared to her small frame. "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it." She tied off the stitches on his leg awkwardly. "You do owe me and explanation." He informed her. "Of?" She moved onto his other leg. "Who that guy was."

As she began to work on his other ankle, Luffy returned with Carue. He had successfully defeated Mr. 3 and Ms. Goldenweek with ease. "It took you long enough." Nami muttered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Sorry." He rubbed his head and laughed half-heartedly. Suddenly, Brogi burst into tears, which were more like waterfalls to the others. His cries were so loud Kya ended up having to cover her ears so her eardrums wouldn't burst.

"He's crying too loud."

"It looks like a waterfall."

"The sound is shaking my brain."

"Look at that rainbow behind it!"

"My ears are going to explode."

"I completely understand Brogi-san's feelings!"

Even though the pirates had made their complaints, Brogi still did not stop wailing. His cries were so loud, they forced Dory upright, even though he was presumed dead. Everyone's eyes nearly popped out from their skulls at the sight of him moving. "It seems that I passed out for a while." He croaked out, holding his injured shoulder. "Dory….Why are you…?"

"Dory-san!" Usopp, Luffy, and Vivi were all shouting happily for the injured man. "It might be because of our weapons." He explained to his friend. "Weapons? I see." Brogi nodded sadly. "Elbaf's weaponry is made to last a long time, but not long enough for this 100 year fight."

"I am stunned." Usopp breathed out happily as Luffy laughed. "This is a real miracle." He added as Kya finished with Zoro's ankle. Brogi leaned over and grabbed his friend, hugging him tightly. "Hey Brogi! Don't hug me too tight, it hurts my wounds!" Dory laughed lightly. "I am so glad that you're still alive my dear friend!"

"Miracle? That's possible, just like those 100 year old weapons and their owners." Zoro commented from the stump he was sitting on. "This is a wonderful day! I have to thank the Elbaf god!" Brogi laughed, earning a look from Dory. "You just hit me once, and you are this happy Brogi?" He asked. "I didn't say that." Brogi smirked and hit him in his wounded shoulder. "Don't touch my wound." They both laughed lightly before getting to their feet and in each other's faces. "You want to fight?!" "I will knock you down this time!" "Hey! Why are you fighting again?!" Nami screamed at them, which ended their small skirmish.

* * *

The crew and the giants meandered their way over to one of the huge skeletons on the island, where Dory's wounds were dressed. "We want to repay you for saving our lives." Brogi told them sincerely. "We've completely forgotten that we were still wanted by the World Government." Dory laughed. "Because of me, those people are coming to this island." Vivi admitted sadly, making Nami grab her cheek. "Stop speaking nonsense." She scolded as the princess cried out in pain. Luffy, Carue, and Usopp were sitting around eating rice crackers, and kindly offered Vivi some, which also sparked a fight with Nami.

Kya rolled her eyes at the crew, reminding herself that even though they were idiots, they were strong idiots. She realized that it was time to go, but remembered it took a year for the Log Pose to set at this crazy island. "We need a year for the Log Pose to log the frequency, that's no joke." She said to the giants. "That's right. It's no joke at all." Brogi repeated her. "You can't do anything?" Luffy pouted as he stood on a rock in front of them. "Don't be silly. That is the only thing we can't control."

"Wow! Nami-swan! Kya-chwan! Vivi-chan! And those unimportant people."

Sanji came into the clearing finally, hearts for eyes. "I'm so happy that you are safe!" He began to spin in circles. "Hey Sanji!" Luffy waved at him. "He didn't do anything and how dare he come out now!" Usopp growled, but it was ignored by the chef. Sanji turned, catching sight of Dory sitting there. "What's this?! Are you Mr. 3?!"

Something in Kya's head clicked: Sanji wasn't here to witness Mr. 3 attempt to kill them. "How do you know about Mr. 3?" She asked him as Nami walked over next to her. "Kya-chwan!~ Nami-swan!~ You're so sexy!" He spun around again before sitting on a stump near him.

He explained that, while looking for the others, he ran into a strange wax hut in the forest. There was a Den Den Mushi inside, and when it rang, he answered. On the other line was Mr. 0, of course the blonde chef spoke to him and told him the Straw Hats and Vivi were dead. "So, you were….talking to Mr. 0?!" Vivi's voice cracked in surprise. "Yes. He thought I was Mr. 3" Sanji nodded, a cigarette in his hand. "So, he believes all of us are dead?"

"That's what I told him."

"Even though no one is trying to kill us, we can't get off the island." Usopp informed him angrily. Sanji gave him a strange look before pulling something out of his pocket. "Can't get out? What do you mean?" The object in his hand turned out to be an Eternal Pose to Alabasta. "You have some business in this place? I just got this thing." Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"The Eternal Pose to Alabasta!"

"Great!"

"Let's have a rice cracker party!"

Everyone was jumping and shouting for joy at this revelation. Vivi ran to Sanji, hugging him tightly. "Thank you very much Sanji! I thought that we wouldn't get out!" She cried. His eyes turned to hearts and his body mush. "You're welcome. I didn't know you'd be so happy." Kya shook her head, albeit smiling, and turned to Brogi. "I guess this means we'll be leaving you shorter than expected." The giant laughed, placing a large finger on her head. "No worries small stuff. Just make sure you visit sometime in the future."

"By the way, have you forgotten about our hunting competition?" Sanji turned to the swordsman next to him. "I will win for sure." He informed him. Zoro opened his arms out wide. "I caught a very huge rhinoceros." She shook her head as the two giants laughed behind her. "It was a triceratops, baka."

"Then it's time to say goodbye! I wish both of you luck!" Luffy shouted suddenly. "Oh! You must be in a hurry." Brogi sounded sad, but no one could tell with the smile on his face. "That's too bad, but we won't stop you. I wish that you could save your country." Dory nodded at Vivi and she smiled. "Thank you."

The crew began to walk away, Zoro and Sanji leading with their bickering while Usopp and Luffy lagged in the back to say their last goodbyes. Kya sniffed, catching a whiff of herself. Her face scrunched together at the smell of sweat and burned hair coming from her. _'I really need a shower.'_ She sighed; the sooner they got back to the ship the better.

"Can't you see? My rhinoceros is bigger!"

"Then you must be blind because mine is definitely bigger than yours!"

Sanji and Zoro were standing on their kills (which were not rhinos, and both equally large) yelling at each other. "You don't need to argue. They both look delicious anyway." Luffy commented from the side of the ship. Kya chuckled next to him, swinging her legs in the air. She had changed into a strapless light blue dress that stopped an inch above her knees; something quite odd for her to wear.

"Shut up!" The two yelled at him before Nami attempted to end it. "How long are you going to fight? We can't carry the whole thing anyways. Just cut the parts that we can bring and let's go." She said, surprisingly calm, from next to the kitchen door. "Yes Nami-swan!" Sanji waved at her. "Don't you think I'm winning, Usopp?" Zoro turned to the sharpshooter, who pointed at himself. "Huh? I don't want to decide."

"Can't you call it a draw?" Kya suggested to the swordsman, who gave her a glaring look. "There is no draw in competition." He stated clearly. Eventually, Nami cut the competition short with her screaming, making Zoro cut up the dinosaurs into pieces that wouldn't overflow the ship. After loading the ship with the excessive amount of meat, the crew was off. "If we are heading straight, we can go out of the west sea." Nami informed them as they moved to the front deck. "Can't we bring more meat?" Luffy complained. "Don't be silly, we can't bring any more meat! Are you trying to sink our ship?"

"Hey! Those are the giants!" Luffy pointed out in front of them; the giants were standing on either side of the canal, their weapons in hand. "They're coming to send us off!" Usopp cried happily. "The small humans that came to this island.." Brogi started off. "They have a big reason to go to the next island."

"What are they doing?" Nami asked the question everyone was thinking. "You have protected our honor with your lives." They crossed their arms. "We won't let anything to your flag!" "Trust us! No matter what happens we want you to keep heading straight!" Apparently Luffy was the only person who understood what they were talking about. "Got it! I will head straight!" he shouted at them as they reached the ocean.

"We shall meet again…"

"Someday…"

The water in front of them began to move violently as something rather large poked through its surface. "Look at that!" Nami screeched. A ginormous goldfish breached in front of the pirates as they held onto the Merry for dear life. "Is that what I think it is..?!" Kya's eyes widened at the sight of the vile fish. "What is it?!" Nami cried. "A giant sea monster!" She turned to look at Usopp. "Hurry up and change course or we'll be eaten!"

"That's huge! A giant goldfish!?"

"A giant goldfish? Sounds like I've heard of it somewhere." The long nosed man said to himself. "Hurry Usopp!" She screamed up at him. "No! We will head straight! Isn't that right Luffy?" The captain of the ship nodded. "Yep! Absolutely!"

Everyone moved frantically around, but no one changed the course of the ship. _'A giant goldfish…a giant goldfish.'_ Kya searched everywhere in her brain for an answer as she held onto the railing. She'd heard of a giant goldfish somewhere but she just couldn't remember where. The Merry quickly made its way inside the fish's mouth, and as the mouth began to close around them, it came to her. "The Island Eater!" She called out to everyone, earning strange looks.

"Heading straight!" Usopp cried out loudly. "We were eaten why are you still shouting that!?" Nami screamed at him. "Going forward!" Luffy joined in. Both boys were very adamant that the crew would come out alive; the others, not so much. "We're going to get swallowed!" Vivi yelled just as a giant hole was blown through the goldfish's body. Merry flew from the giant sea monster, heading back out into the sea. "Yahoo! We're flying!" Luffy shouted. "Don't look back! We're going forward only!"

Kya held onto the railing for dear life as they crashed back onto the water. The giants knew the Island Eater was coming all along and we're there to save their asses. She smiled to herself as she got to her feet shakingly. She never thought she would have befriended giants on her journey. Running over, she leaned over the railing happily. "I'd never thought that one day I would actually see an Island Eater., let alone nearly eaten by one." She said over Luffy and Usopp's singing. "You seem extremely happy about it." Vivi scoffed, crossing her arms. She jumped down to the lower deck, shrugging her shoulders. "I thought it was pretty fun."

Nami sighed and fell down against the mast. "I don't know why, but I'm really tired." She said hoarsely, holding a hand up to her sweaty forehead. "Can you take care of the rest Vivi?" She handed the Eternal Pose to the princess slowly. "Finally we are heading to Alabasta. But on the way, I hope that nothing will happen to us." She smiled at the navigator. "Yes! And I will definitely go back there because I am the only one who can free my people! I have to live and return to Alabasta."

"Try to relax Vivi-chan." Sanji walked over to the three girls. "You can always count on me. Just take a good rest and try my food. Do you enjoy coffee or tea?" He held a tray in front of them with the two choices of beverages and some food on them. "Sanji-san.."

"It looks good!"

"It looks delicious!"

Luffy and Usopp drooled over the food, and the chef pointed at the kitchen. "Your portions are in the kitchen." He said, and they ran off to get some. Kya could hear Zoro talking to himself on the back deck as Sanji left to make sure the two idiots didn't destroy the kitchen. "I'll be back in a second." She said to the two girls, who gave her an understanding nod.

"You're going to pop your stitches." Zoro jumped at her voice, but didn't stop lifting his unnaturally giant weights. "They'll be fine." He defied her in a cold voice. "I'm not going to fix them if you do pop them." She leaned back against the wall and looked at the sky. "I wouldn't ask you to anyways."

It was silent for a while; he kept lifting his weights and she just stared at the sky. He wanted to ask her about what happened, about the man, about everything; but he knew she wouldn't say much so there really was no point. The most he would get would probably be the man was her father or something like that. Not wanting to be rude, he set down his weights and turned to her. "You said you'd tell me."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I did say that." He frowned. "Don't play stupid shit with me woman." He grumbled, making her chuckle. "I was only kidding, no need to get so angry." She smiled at first, but it quickly faded into a frown. "What all do you want to know?"

"Who that guy was, why he wanted you to go with him; something along the lines of that."

She let out a long breath and closed her eyes. "His name is Ron. I've known him for about nine years now since he came to my home. I ran away from him when I was about 12 when we were in East Blue. I guess he's just been trying to save his ass and get me back. I've done a pretty good job at hiding until recently." She chewed her cheek angrily as she glared at the ground. There really wasn't much left to say about him. "But hopefully he should be leaving us alone for a while."

Zoro frowned at her; there was still some things bothering him. "Did he kill your family?" He cleared his throat awkwardly. She furrowed her eyebrows together, thinking deeply. "I don't even know who killed my family." She admitted. "I'm just asking this because I'm the first mate. I have to-" She waved him off. "Yes, yes. It's your duty to protect the Luffy and the others. Trust me, I have no intention of hurting them."

"Everyone come here quick! Something's happened to Nami-san! She has a high fever!"

The crew quickly ran over to Vivi, who was holding an unconscious Nami in her arms. "Nami's sick?!" Luffy practically screamed. "Hurry! We need to get her to her bed!" Sanji took the duty of grabbing the navigator, followed by Luffy, Usopp and Carue. "Kya-san, please watch over this." The princess handed the pink haired girl the Eternal Pose. "I will." She nodded as Vivi followed behind the boys to take care of Nami.

"I guess that means we're in charge." Zoro chuckled at the fact as he put his shirt on. Kya held the Pose in her hand carefully as they walked up the steps and onto the back deck. "Well, we're headed in the right direction at least." She said as he sat on the railing and began lifting another weight. "Maybe she caught something at Little Garden." He suggested. "Or maybe she's just run down."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, making sure everything was in the right order. "There is nothing wrong around here." He said suspiciously. She nodded in agreement. "Hold this. I'm going to grab something to eat." She handed him the Pose and moved inside the kitchen. She had to admit, she was feeling a little run down herself. "Maybe I just need some water."

After chugging a glass of the liquid, she grabbed an apple off the fridge and began to return back outside when she heard Zoro arguing with someone. "Hey! Get your butts out here, everyone!" He suddenly called out. She munched on the apple as she walked outside, the door slamming into his back. He turned, giving her a menacing glare. "Sorry." She chuckled in between bites of her apple. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the rest of the crew on the deck. "We're changing the ships course to the south."

"I don't feel like working with you ordering me." Sanji scoffed. "Shut up and do it! Take the sail out!" Zoro ordered, but only Usopp listened. "What is it Nami-san? The weather is nice." The chef turned to the sickly navigator, who was holding onto the ship tightly. "There will be a storm heading towards us, I think." She said, obviously out of breath. Luffy and Kya walked over to her with worried looks on their faces. He pressed a hand to her forehead, making her jump. "What-?" He pulled away quickly, holding his 'burning' hand. "Ouch! Hot! Hot! I think we'd better stop and find you a doctor." He blew on his hand. "Stop talking nonsense! It's just a cold! Why don't you just go to work and stop worrying about me!"

"Nami-san, I know that you are worried about Vivi-chan, but I think you should rest." Sanji said from the lower deck. "I said that I am fine!" She screeched at him. "Nami, don't overdo it!" Usopp chastised. "Just leave me alone and get this ship moving!" Kya pressed her own hand against the ginger's forehead. "Nami, you're fever is above 100. You really should sleep. This isn't a normal cold." She frowned as her hand was forcefully moved away. "Just leave me alone!"

"I would like to ask all of you a favor." Vivi suddenly came onto the deck and stood next to the assassin. "Maybe it's not right for me to say this since you are bringing me back to my country, but my country is now in danger and I want to go back there as soon as possible." The princess clutched the railing tightly. "I can't even waste one second. So from now on, I would like everyone to head to Alabasta at the fastest speed."

"That's right. I promised you that we're going to make it." Nami smiled as she limply stood against the wall. "So let's start finding a doctor and cure Nami-san as soon as possible, then head to Alabasta. When Nami-san is cured, we can go at the fastest speed right?" Everyone smiled at her. "That's right. There is nothing that can make this ship go faster than with Nami in good health." Luffy told her. "Are you sure? You should worry about your people because you're the princess." Usopp raised an eyebrow at her. "It's true. That's why we have to cure Nami-san as soon as possible."

"You worry too much kid." Kya chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Very good Vivi-chan! Your words make me fall in love with you all over again!" Sanji declared below her. "You are brave." Zoro told her from his spot on the railing. "I'm sorry to put you through this Nami-san. I think you'd better take a rest now." Vivi told the navigator, who smiled lightly. "Sorry Vivi, but I don't think I can go on…." Before she could hit the ground, the blue haired girl caught her in her arms as Luffy started screaming. "What's that?!"

"A cyclone?!"

"Nami-san hang in there!"

"It's so huge!"

Off in the direction the crew was going through was the biggest cyclone Kya had ever seen in her life. "If we even get near that thing, we'd be dead." She muttered as the others ran off to steer as far away from it as possible. Zoro handed her the Eternal Pose. "You should hold onto this." He gave her a compass too. "And tell us when we're going south."

After about thirty minutes of sailing south, it started to get really cold, and then it began to snow. Kya handed the compass to Usopp, telling him to watch it carefully so she could change into something warm. She put on a pair of grey skinny jeans, black fuzzy boots, a black sweater, and a black parka. "I hope the doctors are close by, I can't stand this cold anymore." She groaned as she head back outside. Usopp was waiting for her outside the hatch, yawning tiredly. "I'm tired. You and Zoro and Luffy are on shift because you're not sleeping." He mumbled the last part as headed into the bedroom. She rolled her eyes, looking at the compass to make sure they were still heading south.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

Luffy's whiny voice reached her ears after he collided with her into the snow. "What do you want?" She muttered, regretting ever coming back outside in the first place. "Come with me! But close your eyes, it's a surprise!" He stood off her, grabbing her hand. "I can't take my eyes off the compass!" He pouted, grabbing the item from her hand. "Zoro!" The first mate leaned over the crow's nest. "What?" Luffy sent his arm with the compass up. "Watch this for Kya! We'll be back in a second!"

As soon as the word 'second' left his mouth, they were off. "Close your eyes!" He complained, pushing her eyelids down with his rubber fingers. She chuckled and shook her head. "Fine! Fine! They're closed!" He dragged her a ways farther until they walked into a room; what she thought was the kitchen. "Alright when I count to three, open your eyes!"

"1…..not yet!...2….and…..3!"

She slowly, and carefully, opened her eyes. Chuckling, Luffy opened his arms out in a strange fashion. "I knew you really liked them, because that's all you seem to eat, so I got you a bunch!" He smiled brightly at her. "Luffy…." She placed a hand on her cheek and laughed at the pile of apples in the basket on the table. "Where did you get all those?"

"Well, I took most of them from that mean brat with the pig tails…" he huffed to the side, making her laugh more. "Do you like them?" His eyes became big and wide, reminding her from a child. She bit her lip, smiling, and nodded. "Of course I do."

"Great! Now come with me again!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her out the door. "But Luffy, it's cold outside." She frowned as he turned and blinked at her. "It is?" Sighing, she pushed him forward. "Just do whatever you were going to do."

He pulled her up to the front deck, pushing her towards Merry's figurehead. "Go up there and sit." He demanded. She raised an eyebrow, but complied; whatever he was doing wasn't harmless, right? She shivered as she climbed up on top of the ram's head, sitting in his spot. He climbed on after her, taking a seat next to her. The water was smooth and the night was quiet; a feeling over serenity washed over her, making her smile lightly. "If I keep doing nice things for you, you won't leave right?"

She snapped her head to the side, facing him. "Who told you I was leaving?" She asked quickly. "Zoro…." Of course; the swordsman could never keep anything from his captain. "Luffy…. I don't want to leave you. Even if I do, it will be because I have to." She swore to him, but he frowned deeply. "I don't want you to leave…"

"What are you guys doing?"

The two of them turned to look at Zoro, who yawned boredly. "Well, someone told Luffy that I was going to leave and he thinks it's his fault." She gave an accusing glare the green haired man. Even though she knew she would be leaving at some point, she didn't want to make herself look so emotionless. "Listen, neither of you understand the position I'm in right now. Me leaving is for your own good, no arguments, got it?" Luffy drooped his head, but nodded. "Got it." He jumped off onto the deck, getting ready to leave, but turned back to her. "Oh and Kya?"

"Ya?"

"Will you help me make a snowman tomorrow?" She smiled kindly at the younger boy. "Of course." With a loud cheer, the boy left to go to bed. "You know, you should just tell us the truth." Zoro suddenly tossed her the compass. "The truth? That was the truth, whether you chose to believe it or not is up to you." She informed him. "I just-"

"Don't want to see my captain hurt, I got it." She slid off onto the deck. "And trust me, me leaving will cause him less harm than if I stay." He grabbed her arm tightly. "Just tell me what the hell is going on." She brushed him off, staring at the ground. "Maybe another time." She said quietly before walking away. In all honesty, she did feel bad for not telling them her secrets. It was hard not to tell them her secrets, but she knew it wouldn't do them any good. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she saw them harmed; she cared about tem too much.


	24. Ice Ice Baby

**Chapter 23**

**"My heart wants roots, my mind wants wings. I cannot bear their bickerings. "- E.Y. Harbur**

* * *

It had been about a day since Nami had gotten sick and the snow began to fall. Kya wrapped herself up in the blanket in the kitchen, watching the Log Pose carefully. They were heading Southeast, hoping a doctor could be found in the direction they were headed. Looking around, she pulled out the Eternal Pose to her home. It was pointing to the Southwest; this was a good sign. Letting out a breath, she put it away. Hopefully they wouldn't run into any more of her problems for a while.

She was just beginning to get comfortable when Merry began to rock and nearly toppled over into the sea. "What the hell was that?!" She cried, running out onto the deck. In front of her something she'd never witnessed before; a boat like thing surrounded by tons of steel. A mast and crow's nest stuck out from the top, so this must be a pirate ship. "What are you doing?!" She yelled out at Usopp, Luffy and Zoro who were supposed to be keeping watch. No one answered her as the iron around the ship moved mechanically, revealing an actual pirate ship with a hippo wearing a crown as a figurehead. The ship was at least five times larger than the Merry; it could easily run the Straw Hats over.

Suddenly, someone let out a loud and ugly laugh. "Are you surprised?!" Kya moved up next to Luffy and Usopp. "This is the Bilking; the war submarine!" The person shouted at them. "This is bad! It's a pirate's ship!" Usopp muttered. "Super…." Luffy drawled out, still not wearing any warm clothes. "A submarine….." Kya had never seen anything like it; not even with the World Government. "Why are they coming while we're busy?" Zoro grumbled from the crow's nest.

Just as he finished speaking, groups of men in long, fuzzy coats holding guns trampled onto their ship. They climbed the mast and held Zoro at gunpoint as well as Luffy and Usopp. Kya went to fight off the ones cornering her, but she was in a bind when they pressed their guns up against her. "Hey! What happened here?!" Sanji came running out of the room where Nami and Vivi were at. As the guns drawled against him, he halted and calmly lit a cigarette. "What's going on here?"

"Our ship is under attack." Luffy stated bluntly. "Really? That's what I thought too, based on what I see." The chef returned lightly. "Hey! We are in a hurry!" Luffy yelled as more people began to walk onto the ship. "Ummm…..Five people. You only have five people?" A short and fat (and ugly) man walked up, eating a piece of meat on a sword before eating the sword itself. He was covered in armor, even his chin was iron, and he wore a fuzzy hippo pelt around him. "Anyway, let me ask you a question." He carried on, chewing through the metal of the sword. "What is that thing? He's eating a knife!" Luffy cried painfully just watching the man. "I can't imagine just how much that hurts!" Usopp added, his arms frozen in the air. Kya grimaced at the sight, cracking her fingers. The men surrounding her pushed their guns closer to her, backing her against the railing. _'There is no way we're getting out of this easily.' _She frowned to herself.

"We want to go to the Drum Empire." The man threw the sword hilt into his mouth. "DO you have any Eternal Poses?" He asked, a smirk on his face. "No. And we've never heard of that country before." Sanji informed him. "Hey! Since you're done with your business, why don't you just leave!" Luffy yelled. The man sighed. "Why do you have to be so cruel? If you don't have it, why don't I just take all your treasures then?"

"What did you just say?"

The man turned, catching a glimpse of the pink haired assassin. "And of those five people, we have a beauty!" He laughed and walked over to her. "How would you like to be Queen of the Drum Empire?" He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to be smooth. "No." She said simply, a frown on her face. He looked taken back and he tried to pull it off by coughing. "Well then. No one says no to me. Guards, kill her." The men surrounding her grabbed her arms, one of them holding a gun to her temple. "But before that, I'm kinda hungry." The man turned around and took a chunk out of Merry. His jaws chomped loudly before he swallowed the wood. "Is he human?" Usopp shrieked.

"Hey! Don't eat our ship!" Luffy yelled as the man shoved the anchor in his mouth. "This anchor is quite tasty." The man sung as Luffy clinched his fists. "Don't interrupt Lord Wapol while he's enjoying his meal!" One of the guards shouted, pointing his gun at Luffy. "Shut up!" As Luffy charged towards Wapol, the men surrounded him. "He's going to fight! Let's shoot him!"

Without another word, Kya turned and punched the men holding her. They flew back, knocking down others along the way. "Chey, you guys are pathetic." She pulled some of her needles out and placed them between her fingers and in her mouth. _'Haven't used these in a while.'_ She flicked her wrist, and two men went down. She fought off at least three more before Luffy's hands suddenly came flying back, almost hitting her in the face. When she turned to look at his body, she was surprised to say the least. Luffy's body was in Wapol's mouth, and the man looked at his arms strangely. "Eh? What are these stretching things?"

Vivi had come up the deck, a look of horror washed over her face. "Vivi-chan, is there something wrong with Nami-san?" Sanji asked her calmly. She stuttered for something, but nothing came out. "Hey, this kid is really hard to chew." Wapol grumbled as he tried to grind up Luffy. Kya grimaced at the fact the man was trying to commit an act of cannibalism; people in the Grand Line where indeed strange. Luffy's arms came flying back, hitting Wapol dead on and sending him flying. "Get the hell off my ship!" His followers cried out after their 'Lord' as he flew far into the ocean. They all scrambled back onto their submarine ship and left quickly (after shouting at the Straw Hats) to find the man.

"I've never seen anything so strange in my life…." Zoro muttered, putting away his swords. "It gets worse." Kya said sadly. She hated to admit it, but it was true. Stranger things lie beyond the point they're at; they still have to get to the New World. She shuttered at the thought of those two words and she wondered if they'd even make it that far.

Night fell and Sanji and Kya were left on look out while the others slept in Nami's room. "Neh, Kya-chwan you don't have to stay out here any longer, I can handle this." He told her politely. She curled up in her blanket and scooted closer to him. "No, I'll be fine." Her teeth chattered when she spoke. "Baka, you're going to die if you don't go inside." He laughed lightly, his breath fogging the air along with his cigarette smoke. "I can't just leave you out here by yourself." She admitted. He let out a long sigh before leaning back against the mast.

"Kya-chan, have you been feeling well? If you don't mind me asking." He added the last part quickly, remembering the last time he had a personal discussion with her. "Just tired is all. I haven't been getting much sleep lately." She moved so she could lean over the edge of the wood. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me." With a flash of her pretty smile, Sanji melted, ending their conversation. She chuckled as she looked out over the black water. No island was in sight and she wondered if they would find a doctor soon; losing Nami would not go over well with the crew.

* * *

The next morning, Kya slugged her way to the kitchen. She really was feeling drained herself, and hoped she was getting as sick as Nami. She rested her head in her arms on the table, trying to hold back a pestering sneeze. The tapping sounds of a hammer hitting nails into the wood finally lulled her into a long awaited sleep.

She hadn't been asleep for long when Luffy's voice echoed around the whole ship. "Wow! An island!" Groaning, she stretched her arms and stared at the wall for a few moments. "I should probably make sure they aren't destroying anything….or I could go back to sleep." She pondered out loud. Letting out an irritated sigh, she stood to her feet. She decided not letting the idiots kill her in her sleep was a good idea.

The cold wind hit her hard as she walked back outside. Sanji, Luffy, Usopp, Vivi and Zoro were all standing on the front deck, staring at the island in front of them. Of course, it was a winter island, completely covered in snow. Off in the distance were cylinder mountains and the one in the middle held a large castle on top of it. She stared at the beautiful, yet familiar, scenery (although it did not change her opinion about the cold) as she walked up to the others quietly. "Phew, what's that? A snow mountain?" Sanji asked in awe. "I'm so happy there is this much snow!" Luffy cheered, clapping his hands. "Aren't you cold at all Luffy?" Usopp was shaking violently under his jackets. "-10 degrees Celsius; the right temperature for a bear to hibernate." Vivi informed them, making Luffy turn to them questionably. Apparently, thinking about the cold made him realize how could it actually was. "It's so cold!" He made a 'brr' sound with his lips, earning scolding from Sanji and Usopp. "Ah, Kya! I didn't even hear you come up." He chuckled right before she let out a sneeze. "I think I might just go back in."

As they Merry sailed forward, the crew came to halt. "We can't go any further. I think we'd better stop here." Vivi told them. "Who will look for a doctor? Well first of all, just look for people." Zoro crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. Kya stared at him strangely, wondering how the hell he could stand in this cold for more than two minutes without gloves. "I will!" Luffy raised his quickly, and even he had gloves on. "I will go too!" Sanji declared passionately. "Very good, just hurry up!" After Usopp spoke the last words, armed people came into view on the ledges surrounding them. "Stop right there, pirates." The voice dripped with malice as it spoke. "Hey! There are humans!" Luffy said as if he had accomplished something. "But they don't look too friendly." Kya murmured, staring at the large man in the middle of it all. He was tall and muscular, extremely muscular, and had on a furry hat that covered his ears. His parka was a dark green and trimmed with white fur and his arms looked like they were covered in metal rings. "Get off this island. You're not welcome here." She frowned at his demands; something was oddly familiar about him too. "We are looking for a doctor!" Luffy called out to them. "We have a sick person on board!" Vivi screamed afterwards.

"That trick won't work on us, evil pirates!"

"This is our village and we won't let you in!"

"Just get out, otherwise we'll shoot you!"

"They just met us, but they act like they've hated us for a hundred years." Sanji said weirdly, blowing smoke from his mouth. "Shut up!" One of the villagers fired their guns, almost hitting Sanji in the foot if he hadn't moved. "What are you doing?!" Usopp cried as the others got into fighting positions. "Are you trying to mess with us?" Sanji growled as the villager swallowed and cocked his gun. He went to charge, but Vivi stopped him in his place. "Wait, Sanji-san!" She yelled as another shot rang out around them.

It seemed like the world was moving in slow motion as the blue haired girl fell to the ground. Everyone froze in anger, staring at the scene before them. "Vivi!" Kya breathed, running over to the poor girl. "How dare you!" Luffy and the others went to attack the men, but Vivi suddenly pushed the assassin away from her and grabbed him by the waist. "Wait! Don't fight them! I'm okay, the bullet just grazed me!" She explained, short of breath. Blood seeped from the small wound on her shoulder, and Kya let out a sigh. The damage could have been a lot worse. The young princess turned to the villagers. "We won't go into your village, but our friend is in serious condition." She bowed so low her forehead touched the floor. Everyone stared at her strangely, wondering why a princess would bow so low to commoners. "Vivi…" Luffy trailed off.

"You still don't understand the way of being a good captain, Luffy." She scolded him. "If you do something right now everything will get worse. If you fight them, what will happen to Nami-san? Think about it!" He stared at her for a moment, lost in her words. _'She is too humble.' _Kya thought, scanning the crowd. They were still on edge as Luffy turned to them, determined look in his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's my fault." He said to them before bowing down next to Vivi. "Please call a doctor. Please help my friend."

The villagers still pointed their guns at them, but the main man finally caved in. "I will show you the way to our village. Just follow us." He turned around, waiting for the pirates to follow. "See? They understood us." Vivi smiled at Luffy, who looked at her strangely. "Yes, you've done a good job."

As the pirates went to climb up onto the snowy hill, the man stopped them quickly. "You can't come." He pointed straight at Kya, who stood on the railing of the Merry. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why me?" She asked, earning a glare from the large man. "Don't act like you don't remember." He said lowly before walking off. The rest of the crew stared at her intently, their looks demanding answers without words. She jumped back down onto the deck and crossed her arms over her chest as she shivered. "Look, I honestly don't know what he's talking about."

"It's okay Kya-chwan~! We'll be back in no time; I wouldn't let you spend that much time alone with the shitty swordsman!" Said man grunted at the cook as he twirled away with the others, leaving Kya, Zoro and Carue. She watched in anger as they left into the white land, struggling to figure out why she was not wanted here. She racked her brain for answers, only to be interrupted by a clapping sound behind her.

The sight she was witnessing when she turned around was incredulous. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She nearly shouted at the idiotic swordsman. He clapped his feet at her as he sat on a crate; no shoes on. "I can practice now. I almost lost all of my muscles, but they asked me to guard the ship. That's so boring." He explained as he slipped off his jacket, leaving Kya and Carue with dropped jaws. "If I have a strong enough will and enough practice, I can swim in the middle of winter." He clapped his hands in front of him, breathing out into the freezing cold air.

Not letting this stupidity slip, she marched over to him and grabbed his ear, making the gold earrings jangle violently. "I'm putting you in front of Luffy as the stupidest person I've ever met." She grumbled. "You're not going out there. You'll get hypothermia and you're stiches will rip; you'll be fine for the next couple of days and then you can practice." He grabbed her wrist tightly and made a huffing sound. "Shut up. You're-" His comeback was cut off by a child crying loudly on the island. The two of them walked over to the edge of the ship, spotting a little boy curled up in a ball. "We should do something….." She bit her lip indecisively.

And being the ass that he was, Zoro pushed the small girl forward into the freezing cold water. Being submerged for a mere three seconds made her whole body numb; her teeth chattered loudly as she broke through the surface. "I hate you!" She screamed, swimming over to the shore. She could hear his laughter as she removed her soaking wet jacket; her other articles of clothing were soaked as well, but she was not about to run around an Iceland naked. "Will please give me some clothes." The swordsman nearly busted a gut from laughing so hard at the sight of her. Her pink hair was clinging to her face just like her arms around her torso. Her body was shivering violently and he began to feel slightly sorry for her. "I couldn't resist." He chuckled as he tossed her his shirt and jacket. "There you go." She shot him a glare as she removed the long sleeve shirt she was currently in. The boy behind her had stopped his crying and was staring at her, as well as Zoro. After putting on the long coat she flipped him the middle finger before turning to the young child.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, putting her hair into a ponytail. The kid wiped his eyes and nodded, sniffling slightly. He looked to only be around six or seven and had shoulder length black hair. He was wearing a light pink coat that stopped above his knees and black pants on after that. "What's your name?" She held out her hand to help him up, which he gladly took. "D-Deno." He whimpered, clinging to her arm tightly. "Alright," She turned to look at the Merry, only to see no one on board anymore. "Well, what happened?"

"I was walking down to my fort when the rabbits saw me. I didn't know what to do so I just ran and ran. I tripped and fell down a hill and ended up down here. I was so scared so I just stayed here." He explained, tears pricking the corners of his eyes once more. "Uh, okay. I'll help you find your parents, just stay close to me, okay?" He held tightly to her hand and nodded. "Okay."

They trudged through the thick snow for a while in complete silence. She felt a bit nervous coming onto this island; she had no recollection of this place whatsoever. "You look angry? Is it me?" Deno asked quickly, his bottom lip quivering. She chuckled lightly and squeezed his hand. "No, I was just thinking. I wasn't allowed on the island for some strange reason."

"We were attacked by pirates not too long ago. Maybe that's why." He said quietly. She shook her head. "No, he pointed specifically me out of the whole crew. I must have been here some time ago. I just don't remember it." He looked at her strangely like he didn't understand, but nodded anyways.

It was silence again until a loud rumbling from the top of the mountains stopped them in their tracks. "Is that an animal?" She swallowed hard. "I-It doesn't sound like it." He squeaked. A wave of white came rolling down the mountain, hurdling straight towards them. "Shit!" She picked him up and ran; the only thing she could do. _'Maybe I can make it back to the ship in time.' _She turned to see how far back the avalanche was and realized there was no possible way to out run it."God dammit." She turned in front of a small ledge like thing with a tiny cave in the bottom of it.

"Stay in here, okay?" She pushed him into the one man space. He grabbed her hands, tears rolling down his pale cheeks. "P-Please don't go! You won't survive." He sobbed. She removed herself from him and began to run off. "I'll be back in a minute!" She shouted. The avalanche was so close; debris came flying at her in every direction. She skidded to a halt in front of a small tree, looking between it and the monstrous natural disaster behind her. "This is it." She breathed as the snow washed over her, sending her into the tree and knocking her out.

* * *

Deno waited for what seemed like forever for the avalanche to calm down. He curled up into his ball in the hole, silently crying as he waited for her to come back. He waited and waited and waited and waited.

She never came back.

Slipping onto the crunching snow, he saw the effect the avalanche had on the land. Trees, piece of buildings, clothes, anything you could think of lay among the empty white sea. "Miss." He yelled, wrapping his arms around himself. "Miss!" She still did not answer his pathetic cry. He didn't know what to do, so he sat on the ground and cried loudly. He didn't want to die, nor did he want her to die. He scanned the area with watery eyes, spotting something by a tree some odd feet away.

"Miss!"

He ran as fast as he could over to the woman who had saved his life, using his frostbitten hands to dig her out of the snow coffin. She wasn't awake, that's for sure, but her stomach had been pushed up against the tree. Her head was bleeding profusely and her body was shaking violently. "Miss." He sniffled, managing to pull her out carefully. He couldn't wait for an answer, so he grabbed the surprisingly light woman and began dragging her into the direction they were headed. There was no way he would let her die out here.

It took longer than expected, but he managed to come into the clearing where he thought his home was. People were outside, yelling at something angrily. Tears filled his eyes at the sight of hope. "Someone! Help us! Someone!" He screamed, but no one heard. He fell to the ground, holding the woman in his small arms. "Help!" His cracking voice echoed around the town.

"Everyone! It's Deno!"

He smiled through the tears as he saw a middle aged black haired woman come running towards him. She was crying also; her rosy cheeks indicated she had been outside for a while. "Mama." He whimpered as she fell to her knees before him. "Oh my little Deno. Where have you been? You're not hurt are you? Who is this?" She asked him quickly as he begun to shake. "She's hurt. Help her. She saved me." A few men came running up behind his mother, staring down at the little boy. "Get the first aid kit!"

* * *

Zoro was content with himself now. He had never really been in a cold climate like this with no clothes on, and the thought of beating the shit out of some guy and getting his clothes made him strangely happy; then adding the fact he destroyed the rest of the man's entourage. "What a bunch of losers." He smirked, tossing the crappy swords he had borrowed onto the ground. People were suddenly cheering, thanking him for his good deed. "What's going on?" He asked Vivi, who looked happy as well. "I'll tell you later! Let's help them first!" She exclaimed, running off with the others. He shook his head, but turned to help out anyways.

"M-Mister."

He grunted as someone tugged on his coat. "What do you want?" He growled, looking down at the small kid. "Come with me." He started to cry a little as he reached for his hand. Staring down at the little boy, Zoro recognized him from somewhere. "You were that kid, weren't you?" He asked, taking his hand. "Y-Yes. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He had broken down into sobs now as he dragged the swordsman away from all the frantic people.

He was starting to worry; the kid was crying, apologizing and Kya was nowhere in sit. He hated to admit it but his heart did drop a little at the thought of her possible demise. The kid dragged him over to a secluded area where a group of people were surrounding something. "What is it?"

The people turned to look at him, but their eyes mainly stayed on the little boy. "De-chan, who is this?" The only woman there asked lightly. "H-Her friend." He sniffled, pulling the pirate closer to the center. Zoro hadn't expected to see what was in front of him; Kya lay on the ground, wrapped tightly in blankets. Her face was battered and bruised and dried blood had crusted on the side of her face. "Damn, what the hell happened?"

"She was protecting me from the avalanche. She put me in this small cave and said she would be back but she never did come back. I found her buried under the snow. I'm so sorry." The little boy was shaking as he cried now and Zoro placed his hand on top of his head. "What's wrong with her?"

"Cuts and bruises all over her body, probably broken ribs, possibly a concussion. We're not doctors; we don't really know." One of the men said. "Then why the hell don't you get a doctor?" The swordsman nearly shouted at him. "T-The only doctor we have is witch! She lives up in the castle."

"I don't have time for this shit." He grumbled, pushing past the people. He bent over and scooped the tiny girl into his arms carefully. "I'll take her to the witch doctor or whatever the hell she is." He grumbled, walking away and leaving a path of stunned faces behind him.

"Zoro!" Usopp cried, running over to him. "We found Dalton but-what the hell happened?!" The long nosed boy's jaw dropped at the sight of the assassin. "Forget it; we just need to find a doctor." He told him as the princess came over. "Miss Assassin!" She cried, a horrified look washing over her face. "Don't look so scared. She'll be alright."

Suddenly, a group of doctors in coats, masks, goggles and gloves came up to the people. "Isshin Twenty!" Someone cried out fearfully. "Mr. Dalton is still alive; his body has just become frozen. We will take care of him." One of the doctors informed them. "I thought there were no doctors in this town." Zoro said. "But why?" Vivi breathed. "Aren't they the doctors that ran away with Wapol? I thought they were bad doctors." Usopp mumbled.

"How can we trust you? You are the doctors who served Wapol!" Someone shouted at them. "What are you trying to with Mr. Dalton?!" The doctors became angry at the accusations and finger pointing. "If you want to help him you must listen to us!" One of them shouted. "We served Wapol because we were afraid of him, but we're still doctors. We always do the medial research to help the people in this country, because we've learned from one fake doctor that we should never give up. We shall not lose to that crazy man anymore!"

Zoro didn't really understand what was going on, but he was thankful these guys showed up.

"This is a good chance for this empire to escape from tragedy! If we don't fight them now, this country will never be rising again!"

* * *

Kya shot up, pain searing through her abdomen as she did so. "Shit." She cursed, leaning on her arm as the other clutched her side. "What the hell happened…?" Looking around, she saw she was in what was left of a village. People were scattered everywhere, staring at the large man in the middle. _'That's the same man who was at our ship earlier.'_ She thought as she watched him struggle to his feet. "I will fight them, even if I have to risk my life. I will fight with everything I've got, even if I have to cheat!"

"Get on. I will carry you to the castle." Everyone's jaw dropped as Usopp bent down in front of the man, ready to carry him on his back. "Miss!" A small bundle collided (painfully) with her leg. "Oh, it's you." She patted Deno's head lightly as his grip tightened around her leg. The man fell onto Usopp's back heavily; the distress of the weight was clear on Usopp's face. "You can't carry me Usopp-kun." The man said softly. "Who says I can't?! I will show you that I can do it! You want to fight for this empire right? Trust me, I won't let you down!"

That's when Zoro walked over to the sharpshooter and easily put the man onto his shoulder. "You want to go to the top of the mountain right?" He asked as if it was nothing. "I have to go help my friends." Kya pushed the little boy off her leg. "I'll be back for sure this time." She patted his cheek lightly. "Promise?" He sniffled. "Promise."

She walked up behind the princess as Usopp was seething at Zoro. "It seems a lot has happened since I was out." She chuckled lightly, scaring Vivi. "Miss Assassin! Are you feeling better?" She asked quickly, a worried look washing over her face. Kya waved her off. "Peachy."

"Wait! If you really want to go to the castle, just give us thirty minutes and we will fix a lift for you. It'll be a lot faster if you sue the lift." One of the villagers said to them. "Are you out of your mind? We don't have any rope that connects to the top of the mountain!" Another one cried. "Actually, we just found one white rope tied around a tree at Gyasta."

"Gyasta?" Usopp repeated, looking at Vivi. "The last town that Dr. Kureha visited." She said to him. Kya looked around at everyone; she was completely confused, but she figured she didn't have any time for explanations right now. She turned to follow them but a jabbing pain stopped her in her tracks. "Shit." Hands grabbed her upper body, carefully steadying her. "You've broken quite a few ribs; some are almost poking into your lungs. Don't push yourself, you may die." The man holding her was a doctor by the looks of it; where did he come from? "I'll be fine. Thank you." She brushed him off, clearing her throat awkwardly.

At lightning fast speed, Usopp grabbed the assassin and threw her on his back. "What the-" She tried to gasp but he cut her off. "That stupid Zoro, trying to make me look like a loser." He muttered, locking his arms under her thighs. "Wow you're really light Kya-san."

"Bastard, you almost killed me." She coughed, hanging her body over his shoulder. "Oh, sorry about that." He laughed awkwardly as they trudged forward. "Anyway, what happened to you? Zoro was kind of upset." She sighed heavily, regretting her decision to even go on land in the first place. "Well, we were supposed to be guarding the ship, but we saw Deno crying. Zoro pushed me off the ship so I just went and helped the kid and got caught in the avalanche. Not my best moment, but I'll be fine." She coughed lightly; her ribs were scraping against her poor lungs.

"So it's pretty much Zoro's fault?"

She snorted loudly. "Honestly, no. I would have helped the kid anyways, but the stupid marimo is going to feel guilty about it anyways. Baka." She shifted uncomfortably in the sharpshooters arms as they reached a giant tree with a rope connecting it to the mountains.

"A boy in the village just found it." Someone explained as people were tinkering with the lift. "This is quite surprising. I can't believe that there you be a rope here! And isn't this place Dr. Kureha's old house?" This caught her attention as Usopp carefully helped her inside the lift. "Dr. Kureha?" She repeated. "She's the witch doctor here."

More and more people crowded onto the lift, pushing her against the large man named Dalton. "Hey, there are too many people on this lift!" Someone cried out. "But we can't let Mr. Dalton fight alone!" Another shouted. "We will fight with you!" "I understand, but with this many people it will take longer for us to get to the top!" Dalton shifted uncomfortably as Vivi came over. "Mr. Dalton, don't overdo it." She scolded as Usopp yelled at the man pedaling to go faster. "Such nice scenery." Zoro said to himself off to the side.

Kya looked at the man next to her, seeing the struggle apparent on his face. "I would like to apologize; first for coming onto the island after you told me not to. Second for whatever I did before to make you unable to trust me." She played with her hands in her lap awkwardly. "No, please. I am thankful you came onto the island; you saved Deno-kun's life." He placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I just recognized you from a long time ago. It seems you really don't remember. Honestly, I just remember you being with _**them**_ as they destroyed our villages; you never really harmed anyone. I was just worried you would be a threat."

Her hands clenched into fists as he spoke quietly for only her to hear. "I am so sorry. I can't even remember; though this place does look familiar. I had no choice but to work with them you see-well it's a long story, and one I am not going to tell. But I will say that I hate them, and I will get revenge for whatever they did to you." He chuckled lightly at the young girl. "Do not worry about us; just make sure not to follow that path again." After he spoke these words, he doubled over in pain and began to cough up blood. "Mr. Dalton!" People cried as she placed her hands on his shoulder in chest. "I will end this painful tragedy" He declared. "What is history? What is government?! What's wrong with giving your heart to the country?!" Vivi squeaked, placing a hand over her mouth as her eyes began to water.

He sat up slowly, people crying out for him. "Listen up, when we get to the castle, I want everyone to stand back." He pulled a long row of explosives out of his jacket. "Dynamite?!" Murmurs spread around the lift, until someone shouted: "Look! Someone is at the top of the castle!" Squinting her eyes, Kya could make out the outstretched arms of her captain. "It's probably destroyed now." She muttered, a small smile spreading on her face.

The lift slowly came up to a hole in the side of the mountain and stopped. "I will go look at the situation first, everyone wait here." Usopp informed them, racing up the steps first, until he grabbed Zoro and pushed him out into the snow first. "Hey, would you stop pushing me!" Zoro groaned. "I'm just trying to support you." Kya couldn't help but snort at the lame excuse. "If you're scared you can just wait here with them." The swordsman pushed Usopp's head away from him. "Who says that I'm scared?! There's no way I'm scared!"

Suddenly, a loud cry erupted from the sky as Kya climbed the steps up behind the boys. "What is that?!" Usopp cried. "Luffy!" Zoro yelled as the captain caught sight of them. "Zoro and Usopp?" He questioned before slamming into the ground with them. Vivi sighed behind the assassin as the boys quickly rose from the snow.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro yelled at the boy. "I thought you were one of them because you are wearing their clothes." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "So you're climbing up here to see us? Didn't you say that you don't know how to hike Usopp?" the sharpshooter swayed back and forth, still dizzy from the impact. "Are you kidding me? A man like me can't be stopped by a mountain. Talking about that, this is one tough adventure." Kya chuckled as she grabbed her side and walked up over to them. "We just took a lift to get here."

"By the way, are Nami-san and Sanji-san doing okay?" Vivi asked quickly, earning a smile from Luffy. "Yup, they're doing fine." Everyone let out a small breath. "That's good to hear." She replied as Usopp went on talking about some vulture thing. "What are you doing at the top of the castle anyway?" Kya asked him, looking at Nami's torn jacket adorning the boy's torso. _'I bet she's pissed.' _She held back a laugh as he answered her. "I just chased that stupid king away."

"So that thing that just flew away was Wapol?" Dalton exclaimed as he limped over to them. "What about the other two?" Luffy waved that off. "That reindeer has already taken care of them. Hey listen up, we got a new crew member!" Everyone raised an eyebrow at Luffy but turned to a small tree next to them. There a small creature wearing pink pants with a pink hat that had a white x on it. He was small but had antlers protruding from his head and a blue nose. Upon seeing the reindeer, Dalton fell to his knees and bowed to it. "Thank you very much! I am sure that from now on, Drum Empire will become a better country!"

"Ah! Look!"

"What is that weird creature?!"

"Reindeer? No it's a monster!"

People were beginning to get their weapons ready at the poor creature, but Dalton intervened. "Don't do anything to him!" He shouted. "Evil?!" Usopp's jaw dropped to the ground. Seeing the weapons and the look on Usopp's face, the reindeer screamed (like a human) and ran off. "Hey! You idiot! He's the new crewmate I talked about" Luffy hit Usopp in the face. "You made him run away!" He cried before going after the reindeer. "Wait for me!"

"Hey!" Zoro sighed, rubbing his head. "Our new crewmate, is a reindeer?" Kya blinked, holding her side tighter; the idea of having an animal as crewmate was sort of neat. "Everyone!" A woman's scream echoed around them, causing the villagers to panic. "Dr. Kureha!" They cried out at the sight of her. She was old and strangely ugly, but had the body of a sixteen year old. She was in pants that had lightning symbols, a shirt that stopped above her pierced naval, and a jacket that stopped below her elbows. "Just looking at her makes me cold." Kya muttered, shivering to herself.

"Is everyone okay? Just take all the hurt people inside!" She told them, but no one moved. "And that means everyone's okay?" She decided. "Yes ma'am." The old woman suddenly turned and kicked down the wall behind her. "You two have to go inside too!" She shouted over the screams of whoever was behind the wall. Nami and Sanji came scurrying out, terrified looks on their faces. "We're sorry Dr. Kureha! We really are!"

Kya chuckled at the sight, which happened to be a bad idea. Pain shot up through her chest and blood came pouring from her mouth. "Kya!" Zoro caught her before she could hit the ground, cradling her in his arms. "Looks like we do have new patients." Dr. Kureha laughed, walking over to the two. She grabbed the side of Kya's unconscious face tightly, turning it to the side. She then pressed down on the girl's side, frowning. "Just what I thought. Come with me, she'll need surgery." Zoro's eyes widened at the word. "S-Surgery?!"

* * *

The surgery didn't take too long, and when Kya awoke she was laying on a cold bed with the doctor and Zoro by her side. "Aha! Success! Anyways, take these for a while. Change your bandages often, don't get your stitches wet, and no sudden movements. Oh and you have to stay here for a while." Kureha grabbed a bottle of sake off the table before she left the room. "Your coat is by the door and no one is here. Don't do anything stupid." With that, she left the room.

"I think she just told you to leave…." Zoro muttered under his breath. "What the hell happened anyways?" Kya groaned as she sat up. "The old bat said a part of your rib poked through your lung, but nothing too major. You'll be fine in a few weeks." He winced slightly, looking at her bandaged body. "Ah, fun. Anyways, get my jacket. Let's go."

The swordsman fixated her on his back as they began the long descending of the stairs. "Look, I'm sor-" She put her hand over his mouth quickly. "Don't even start with that shit." She grumbled. He tried to answer, only making muffled noises behind her hand. She chuckled lightly; that is until her licked her hand.

"You are…disgusting." She frowned and wiped her hand on his jacket. "That should teach you not to put your hand over my mouth." He informed her as they went outside. The cold hit her like a bullet, and she instantly buried her face into him. "Back inside. Now." He snorted and ignored her demand, walking out in front of the castle. "We'll just wait for the others out here." He carefully dropped her to her feet on the soft snow.

"But, it's cold." She muttered just as Luffy ran up next to them, Usopp trailing behind. "Hey reindeer!" He called, holding his hands on either side of his mouth. His jacket only had one sleeve, and he was still in shorts. _'Baka.' _She shivered looking at him. "Just come and be a pirate with us!" He yelled again. "Give it up Luffy, we have been looking for him for a long time, but he's still running away." Usopp informed him sadly. "Maybe he doesn't want to become a pirate." Zoro sat on the ground with a thud.

"How can you know that? I want to take him with me." Luffy declared. "That's your only decision!?" Zoro shouted at his captain, but earned no response. "Reindeer! Reindeer!" Kya shook her head as Nami and Vivi came out of the castle, literally dragging Sanji behind them. "I'm sure he as a name Luffy."

"Ah! Reindeer!"

Standing between the trees was the little reindeer, his hat shadowing his eyes as he looked at the ground. "Hey, you want to become a pirate with me right?" Luffy asked, laughing happily. "That's impossible." The reindeer replied. "Why is it impossible? A pirate's life is very fun you know!" Luffy was getting more excited by the minute. "Don't you understand his words at all?" Usopp sighed heavily.

"I really was to thank you." The reindeer said slowly before looking at them. "But I am a reindeer! I have hooves and horns! I also have a blue nose! Actually, I want to be a pirate too! But I'm not human, I'm a monster! I can't be friends with humans! That's why I came here just to thank you!" He wiped his eyes before calming down. "Thank you for asking me, but I will stay here. If you are bored, just come to visit me sometime."

"Just come with us!"

Tears welled up in the (Kya wouldn't say it out loud, but he was rather adorable) creature's eyes as Luffy shouted this loudly. "What a noisy persuasion." Zoro muttered lowly as the reindeer sniffled. "Okay!"

The reindeer, whose name was Chopper, left to go get something, leaving the crew to entertain themselves. "Hey, why don't we say goodbye to doctor and uncle?" Luffy asked, sitting on a large ball of snow. "You'd better let Chopper go by himself because it will be very sad goodbye. Even though doctor Kureha looks mean and scary, she's really a kind person." Nami explained to them. "So we are going to leave them without saying goodbye?" Usopp asked, slightly saddened by this fact. "That's right. When Chopper comes back we will go to our ship and head to Alabasta. I hope this is fine with you Vivi." Nami turned to the princess, who smiled lightly. "Of course, as long as we have a doctor with us I'm okay."

"Doctor?"

Kya sat against the large snowball Luffy had rolled for her and sighed. "What an annoying adventure" She muttered as Usopp and Luffy went to fix the lift up. "Exactly what happened to you?" Nami stared the assassin down as she spoke. "Nothing." She mumbled, earning a laugh from Zoro. "She saved a kid's life; who knew she actually had a heart!" He laughed again, and she frowned deeply. "Shut up! At least I don't push people into the freezing cold water!"

"You asked for it."

"How?!"

"You leaned too far over the edge. I couldn't stop myself."

Before he could stop it, a large chunk of snow hit him in the face, knocking him off the mound he was sitting on. Everyone laughed loudly and his face grew red in anger. "What the-" Loud crashing noises followed by screaming interrupted his shout, making everyone stop. "What's going on inside the castle?" Vivi asked. "Why can't they just have a quiet goodbye? It's already late." Nami grumbled as Chopper came into sight. He was in a different form and pulling a sled behind him.

"I'm being chased!" He cried, dodging the oncoming knives thrown by Dr. Kureha. "Everyone hop on! We are going down now!" Everyone's eyes widened as the crazy woman manically threw weapon after weapon at them, screaming 'Stop!'. "What the hell is she doing?!" Kya cried as they all struggled to jump onto the sleigh. "Come on stupid." Zoro growled, practically throwing her on there. Luffy missed as Chopper ran right onto the rope. "Usopp!" He yelled, stretching his arm out for the sharpshooter to grab. "Got you!" He held on tightly as Luffy flew in the wind behind them. She frowned, looking down at the passing villages. "How bothersome." She muttered just as Chopper jumped down onto the snowy ground. The sleigh rattled and shook, nearly knocking everyone out.

"Yahoo! That's so cool! Can we do it again?"

"Are you nuts?!"

"We have to go now!"

"I thought I was gonna die!"

"Hey! Where am I?" The shaking had woken Sanji up, and he now looked around, dazed and confused at the passing scenery. "Oh! You're conscious." Usopp noted the obvious. Everyone simultaneously let out a sigh; they were all glad to have everything back together. That is, until cannons started to shoot from the top of the mountain. Chopper stopped the sleigh, turning to look at the castle.

Spreading through the sky like a wildfire was a pink mist, almost like snow. Luffy sat on the back of the sleigh, Kya on one side of him, Usopp and Sanji on the other, and Nami stood behind them. Vivi and Zoro got out staring at the beautiful scene as Chopper turned into his regular form. He trudged his way back up the mountain a little, letting out a loud cry.

"That's so cool!" Vivi exclaimed and Zoro agreed. "It's so beautiful." Kya couldn't help but laugh lightly. The sky was turning into the color of her hair, and the sunlight made the whole island turn into a pinkish color. Chopper screamed and wailed as he looked upon the sight; it must have meant a lot to him.

Eventually they managed to get Chopper back to the Merry, a little less teary eyed. Everyone was rushing around trying to get the ship ready for their next destination. Kya was stuck on the ground; unable to lift her arms to climb aboard. "Dammit." She chewed her lip; trying to figure out how she would do this.

"Here, let me help you."

Suddenly, she was on top of someone's shoulders, looking over the ship. Chopper had apparently transformed into another form, which was more human like. "This whole transforming thing is pretty cool." She chuckled as he started to climb the rope. "O-oh." He mumbled, his cheeks turning red. "Uhm, Doctorine told me to look after you; your ribs were broken and poking into your lungs. I should check up on you later." He whispered as he set her down onto the deck. She smiled lightly at the reindeer. "Welcome aboard, Chopper."

* * *

Night fell as the Straw Hats sailed away from Drum Island, leaving behind a sakura covered kingdom. And what do the Straw Hats do when they gain another crew member? Party of course! Luffy was currently running around with chopsticks stuffed in his nose and everyone else was eating and/or getting drunk. Kya was sitting in between Usopp and Sanji, chugging her alcohol like a professional. "Chopper! How long are you going to sit there?!" Usopp asked loudly, looking at the little reindeer sitting on the railing by himself. "Let's come here and drink together!" She cheered, raising her class in the air. "It's a very beautiful sakura night. I never thought that I would see sakura in this winter empire." Sanji said calmly as Zoro poured him another drink. "That's right we need to get drunk tonight!"

"Wait a minute here!"

Everyone looked at Nami who pointed at Vivi holding poor Carue in a blanket. AS the Straw Hats had arrived back at the ship, they discovered that Carue had fallen into the water and was frozen solid. "Can you just keep it down and look here?!" She screeched. "Isn't it good that he is still alive?" Luffy asked blatantly. "Carue, why did you jump in the cold water?!" Vivi cried as her duck quacked.

"Maybe he just fell into the water accidently…What an idiot!" Zoro laughed loudly, earning a glare from Vivi. "Shut up!" She shouted as Chopper spoke for the first time since they left. "He said that after Kya fell into the water, Zoro did too and they disappeared. He thought they were in trouble so he jumped into the water to save them, but he became ice." Nami was quick to punch the assassin and swordsman in the head. "It's all because of you two!"

"Tony-kun, you understand Carue's words?" Vivi gasped. "I used to be an animal, so I understand their language." He explained, jumping onto the deck. "That's great Chopper, not only do you know medicine, you have other talents!" Nami clapped her hands at him happily. "Damn it! I won't be happy by those words you know?!" He cried, although he was dancing with a smile. "If you're not happy, why do you act like that?"

"Nami-san, why do you buy medicine?" Sanji asked suddenly, breathing out cigarette smoke. "Chopper is a doctor." Kya told them, nursing her throbbing head. _'That wench can hit.' _She grumbled to herself as shock spread through Luffy and Sanji's faces. "What?! Chopper is a doctor?!" They shouted together. "Why do you think I asked him to join us?" Nami grumbled.

"Because he can transform into seven different forms."

"Emergency food supply."

Nami placed a hand on Chopper to stop him from running away. "Ah! I forgot to bring my bag with me! All my medical supplies is in there!" He cried loudly, suddenly realizing this. "Then what is this?" She pulled out a pink bag with a white x on it, just like his hat. "I found it in the sleigh." His mouth dropped to the ground. "My bag? But why?" He gasped. "Why? I thought you were the one who prepared it?"

Luffy and Usopp shoved chopsticks in their noses again, dancing in the center like maniacs. Kya chuckled from her spot in between Zoro and Sanji, chugging her drink. "Chopper! Come and dance with us!" They cried, making Nami angry. "Would you guys keep it down!" She shouted before turning back to Chopper, who now had chopsticks in his nose too. "Why do you copy them?!"

"Alright! Everyone listen up!" Usopp stood and whistled, holding his cup out. Everyone seemed to be ignoring him. "Hey! Stupid chef, get me more food!" Zoro suddenly shouted. "What did you say? How dare you order me!" Sanji yelled back. "Can't even get a long for two seconds." Kya muttered, grabbing her grog and getting the hell out of there. "Sanji! Are we out of dino meat?!"

"Let's have a toast!"

She moved over to sit next to Nami and Chopper, the latter had tears pricking his eyes and chopsticks still in his nose. "This is the first time in my life that I feel happy." He giggled. "Let's drink for our new friend!" Everyone stopped what they were doing to cheer and clank glasses. "Kanpai!"

Things didn't die down; there was even more eating, drinking and dancing. "Are you okay, Kya-san?!" Chopper was twirling in front of her as she sat against the railing. "Just fine, my side hurts a little so I thought I'd take a rest." She smiled at him. "Ah, you know. I remember you now. You came to my home once." He stopped dancing to sit cross legged in front of her. "You came with these mean people; even meaner than Wapol. They killed a lot of people and kidnapped others. And you were there; you were younger and didn't have that black. You were crying behind a tree, and covered in blood. I thought you were hurt but there weren't any cuts on you. That's when I knew you were one of them and I just….I left you there."

She frowned deeply, swirling her drink in her cup angrily. "I-I don't remember anything. I'd rather not think about it right now either. Just now leaving me there was a better choice on your behalf and you should not feel bad about it." The little reindeer looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't me-" She leaned forward and flicked his forehead. "Baka, go have fun! We're nakama now! No worries!" She smiled happily at him, making him laugh. "Okay!"

* * *

**Long ass chapter. I apologize for the lateness. D: and the bad ending. There will be no Christmas special, simply because I do not believe in Christmas. (I'm sorry!) But I promise a New Year's special! And also check out my other story, which is pretty much the same thing as this, except different setting. :3 **


	25. New Years

**New Year's Special**

* * *

"I know you touched my sword!"

"Shut up, I haven't been near those plastic knives!"

"What did you just say?!"

"Are you deaf marimo? I said I didn't go near them!"

"I'm not stupid you shit cook!"

The Straw Hats had been sailing idly in the sea for a while, and Sanji and Zoro had been bickering like no tomorrow. "Does this usually happen?" Chopper blinked at the scene in front of them. Kya sighed and squeezed the little reindeer lightly in her arms; she had become increasingly fond of him as of late. "They fight, but never like this."

"Listen up!" Nami shouted, hitting both boys on the back of the head. "New Year's Eve is today, and we are all going to make resolutions." She insisted, putting a fist into the palm of her hand. "What do you mean _resolutions_?" Luffy raised an eyebrow at her as he sat against the mast. "Oh Nami-swan, you're so smart and beautiful!" Sanji cooed, a large lump rising from his head as he spun around the navigator. "Alright here's what we're going to do." She ignored him. "Write down a list of things you want to change about yourself on paper and hand them to me!"

"This is lame. I'm going to get an apple." Kya set Chopper down at her feet and walked off. "You should write down your attitude!" Nami muttered, putting her hands on her hips. "You're one to talk dear Nami." The assassin waved her off as she walked into a kitchen.

Sitting on the table was an apple held in a handmade of paper. She frowned, knowing exactly who it was. Once the apple was removed, a bigger piece of paper was revealed. **'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.'** She frowned, holding the red fruit in her hand as the papers dispersed. "What a stupid shit." She muttered, taking a bite.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"I wasn't even talking to you!"

"You're irritating."

"Do you wanna fight?!"

'_Do they ever stop?'_ Kya thought to herself as Sanji and Zoro walked into the kitchen; a headache was already beginning to brew in her. "Oh my beautiful Kya-chwan is in here!~" Sanji spun over to her as she munched on the apple. "I thought we were out of apples though…" Zoro pointed out. "You were complaining about that last nite." She shrugged lightly. "I found one today."

"You're annoying her, leave." Sanji demanded, pointing at the door. "Maybe it's you that's annoying!" She sighed, rubbing her temple; the headache was now turning into a migraine. "Don't talk to me like that stupid marimo!" The two boys got in each other's faces. "Don't be such a shit cook!"

The migraine suddenly converted into an allover pain. Her body was aching, her head was spinning, her legs were shaking, and it hurt to breathe. "You guys…" She said quietly, falling to her knees. Blood spurted from her mouth, and she threw it up all over the floor. "What the hell-" Zoro grabbed her before she could fall over onto the floor. "Go get Chopper!" He yelled as she fell over into his chest, blood dripping from her mouth to the floor. He watched as Sanji ran out the door, screaming for the little reindeer.

"What did you do to Kya?!" Luffy screamed, running in the kitchen before Chopper. "It wasn't even me!" Zoro yelled back, knocking his captain in the head. "Zoro, move Kya-san over to the bed but keep her leaning forward, we don't want her to drown." Chopper pushed a chair up next to his patient's bed.

"Was she eating or drinking anything when you came in?" He asked as he pressed a stethoscope to her back lightly. "Uh, she was eating an apple. She found it apparently." The swordsman explained, holding the small girl awkwardly. "Most likely poison. I've seen something like this before, but we have to hurry. Her breathing is beginning to shallow." The rest of the crew piled into the small room, gasping at the bloody mess. "Did you gut her?!" Nami cried fearfully, earning a glare from Zoro. "It wasn't me!" Luffy pushed himself onto the table. "So if we just give her some meat she'll be fine right?"

"Shut the hell up!"

* * *

The pain started in her stomach, moving its way to her throat. Kya sat up and coughed loudly; she could feel something sliding out of her throat as she did so. Flopping down on the bed she sighed and decided to open her eyes. Slowly, the lids fluttered open, only to reveal darkness. She flickered them again, hoping they were only kidding her, but proved the same result. "What the…" She mumbled, sitting up slowly. "What's going on?"

"Oh good! You're awake!"

'_Chopper?' _She figured the childish voice could only belong to him. "How are you feel?" The doctor asked, his hooves pressing against her chest lightly. She reached up and touched the side of her face slowly and carefully; frowning. "I can't see." She muttered. "Can't see….?" He repeated as a door was opened and shut loudly.

"Oh, she's awake." A gruff voice said as their heavy footsteps clunked over to her bedside. "Don't pull that shit again, pretty freaky princess." She frowned even deeper, swinging her legs off the bed. "Back off Zoro, I can't fucking see alright. Chopper, can I take a shower?" She asked, standing up on shaky legs. "Uhm, yes. Zoro will help you out. But, by you can't see, you mean, you're blind? You can't see anything?" The reindeer chirped bashfully. "Ya, I can't even see my hand in front of my face." She demonstrated until Zoro grabbed her wrist. "Alright princess, let's go." He chuckled as protested being dragged forward and out the door. "Quit complaining; you're biting the hand that feeds." She nearly died as he pulled her down the steps. "You're not even helping me."

After fumbling through the onslaught of questions and cheers of the other crew members, the two finally made it to the bathroom. "How are we going to do this?" She asked, awkwardly rubbing her arm. "Well, uhm…." He mumbled something incoherent afterwards before pulling her inside. He released her wrist and the sound of the water hitting the tub echoed around them. "Just call me when you're done." He said before rushing past her and slamming the door behind him. "Bastard."

The hot water felt nice against her cold skin, washing away all the blood and grim that had accumulated. Running her hands through her hair, she never actually realized how pissed she was. Ron had nearly killed her and she was blind; possibly for a long time. Part of her wanted to cry and the other part just wanted to scream in anger. She leaned forward, pressing her balled up hands against the wet wall. There wasn't a chance in hell that she would let this ruin her.

"Hey, you might want to hurry up." Zoro knocked on the door. "There's a storm heading our way." She sighed heavily, and managed to find the faucet to turn the water off. "Can you get me a towel?" She asked awkwardly, grabbing the shower curtain and holding it over her body while she stuck her head out. He gave a loud grunt before walking in slowly. "Don't get mad at me if I see you naked." He groaned out. "Shut up; just get me a towel and ask Nami to get me some clothes."

After throwing her the towel, he stomped out of there, calling Nam's name. "Baka, leaving me here alone." She grumbled, reaching down for the side of the bathtub so she could get out. After taking ten minutes just to get out of the tub, Nami waltzed in, humming to herself. "Damn that Zoro. What would he have done if you tripped and killed yourself?" She ground out.

"Thank you for getting my clothes. Could you help me put them on?" Kya chewed her lip nervously, grabbing at the scar on her thigh. "Uh, sure. I brought you that blue dress." The ginger informed as Kya turned and dropped the towel just before her butt. "That's fine. So you said a storm is heading our way? Is it bad?" She asked, tying the towel around her waist. "It's pretty strong; we're going to have to find a way around it, which will be difficult." The navigator replied awkwardly; the two had never really had an open conversation like this. She helped pull the dress over her head, helping her situate the strapless piece of fabric over her boobs. Letting the towel drop, she quickly placed her wet hair up in a bun. "Thankfully that wasn't too difficult."

"Hey, Kya what's that?"

Swallowing hard, the assassin pulled the hem of the dress down. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said quickly, earning a snort from the other girl. "Bull, even though you can't see, you know exactly what I'm talking about." Her arms wrapped around her awkwardly. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's get back out there before we die, okay?"

She held onto Nami's wrist as they went down the steps. "Zoro!" The swordsman opened an eye lazily at them from his sleeping position. "What?" He groaned. Nami lifted the assassin's hand up in the air. "She's your responsibility. Take her." She explained loudly. "Thanks for making me such a burden." Kya muttered as a rough hand grabbed her wrist. "You guys are so annoying." A loud smack made it clear the navigator had hit the first mate in the face; and quite hard too.

A loud rumbling in the distance made everyone's blood run cold. "The storm is here!" Nami yelled as everyone scrambled to their positions. "Shit." Zoro growled, looking down at the wrist he held in his hand. "Okay princess," He pushed her over to the railing, wrapping her arms around it. "Hold onto this and don't let go." He told her before running off. "Zoro!" The wind started hitting her face violently as she held on for dear life.

The rain started coming down, first as little drops, then hard pellets. She clenched her eyes shut and curled up against the railing, still holding on. She felt useless and insecure; she wasn't able to help them at all, in fact she had no idea what was going on. The crew was shouting at each other but it all started to run together and sounded more like mumbles.

"Kya-chwan!"

Sanji was at her side, holding her tightly. "That shitty swordsman left you here didn't he?" He growled as she nodded. "That bastard! I'll kill him! Ah, but first, here. Let me help you inside." As he helped her stand to her feet, the Merry crashed into an angry wave. The two of them tripped, tumbling over the railing. Sanji held onto the railing as Kya grabbed onto his waist.

"Sanji-san! Kya-san!"

"Zoro! Luffy! Go help them!"

Unfortunately, the Merry was pushed around roughly by stormy sea, and the water made the railing slippery; the two pirates fell into the dark ocean. "Kya! Sanji!" Luffy screamed, leaning over the railing. Usopp ran over, grabbing his captain and pulling him away. "Luffy stop! We don't need you falling in too!" He cried, holding the seething boy tightly in his arms. "We'll find them!"

'_Am I dead?' _Kya could feel her body being lifted up as she came back into consciousness. "Sanji?" She asked hoarsely, coughing some water out of her lungs afterwards. The person didn't answer, but it definitely did not feel like Sanji. She slowly opened her eyes, the salt water burning them as she did so. It wasn't pitch black anymore, just extremely blurry; she could make out colors and figures though and this definitely was not Sanji nor was it someone she knew. "Who are you?" She pressed weakly. "Where is Sanji?" Again, the person did not answer.

They walked on through what seemed like a forest until they came to a large mansion. "What is this place?" She demanded as they walked up to the front door. The man proceeded to through her over his shoulder before opening the door and walking in. "Master Zaroff, I have returned." He called with a thick accent.

"Oh my dear Ivan, how great of you to return in time for the party. And I see you have brought me something." The other man's voice did not have such a thick accent, but it was still noticeable. The way he spoke was with more propriety than Ivan and with less of an angry tone. "Set her down, set her down. I must see this lady."

She was forcibly thrown to the grown, but another set of arms caught her before she could fall. He had a cane in his hand, and she could definitely tell he had dark hair and beard. "My, my. What a beauty. What's your name, dear?" Zaroff grazed his hand up and down her arm lightly. "Kya." She answered stiffly, trying to move away from him. His hand grasped around her upper arm tightly and he chuckled. "Oh, so beautiful and young. We shall present you to the town at the party. Ivan, take Ms. Kya to the maids to get her ready. I will meet you back here in an hour and a half." Ivan grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "Come, we must get you ready?"

"Ready for what?" She tried pulling away but his grip was too strong. "You're too be introduced to the town as Master Zaroff's fiancé." He informed as she tripped up some stairs. "What is your problem, can you not walk by yourself?" He growled as the buzzing of feminine voices reached her ears. "I'm blind dipshit." She spat, pulling her arm out of his hand. Today was just not her day.

* * *

The Straw Hats slowly sailed up to a small, but festive looking, island. "Do you think Kya and Sanji are here?!" Luffy shouted as they docked, nearly fling off the boat. "There's no way to know Luffy! We'll check, but don't get your hopes too high." Nami placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew in her heart that they were not here; they were either at the bottom of the sea or in a Sea King's stomach, however morbid that may sound.

"It never hurt to try."

The crew watched as Zoro jumped over the railing and onto the dock. "Are you guys coming or what?" They all knew he did feel slightly guilty about what had happened; Kya was his responsibility after all. "We're all coming." Luffy informed him, landing on the docks next to him. Usopp came down next, followed by Chopper exclaiming how 'cool' they were. Nami let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine. I guess I'll help."

The group walked into the small town; children ran around with sparklers, people sang happy songs, and everyone looked happy. "I don't see them anywhere." Luffy whined, holding his hand over his eyes. "Well of course not baka, they wouldn't be out in the open like this." Usopp grumbled, pushing Luffy's shoulder. "They're probably hidden away somewhere, or maybe they're getting help by a doctor!" The latter statement made everyone's ears prick up. "Good idea! Let's go find a doctor!"

They searched for over an hour, asking the brain washed-like villagers if they had a doctor. After each question, the person just laughed and strode away from the pirates as if they had just made a terrible joke. "They're not here." Nami huffed, sitting down on a box. "Don't give up hope just yet!" Chopper cried waving his little arms in front of her. She was about to yell at him when a familiar voice came towards them.

"Nami-swwwaaaannnnn~!"

Zoro frowned as he watched the cook twirl his way over to the navigator, taking her hand in his. "How I've missed you so!~" He said, hearts in his eyes. "Sanji!" Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were quick to tackle him to the ground, crying things like 'I'm so glad you're say!' and 'Good thing you didn't get eaten!'. "Get off me you shit heads!" He yelled, kicking the boys off him. "Sanji-san! What happened to you? Where is Kya?"

"After the stupid swordsman left Kya-chwan alone, I went to help her. We ended up tumbling into the ocean. She should be on the island somewhere; I held onto her so we would stay together. Once we landed on the beach, I passed out. When I awoke, she was gone and I've been searching for her since."

"See Nami! They are here!" Luffy pointed accusingly at the redhead. "Shut up!" She screeched, hitting him in the head. As the pair began to bicker, a crowd seemed to form around some sort of stand decorated in New Year's garb. "What the hell kind of town is this….?" Zoro muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are there any bad people here?" Chopper tugged at his pants leg nervously. "At the moment, doesn't seem to be, but things could change."

"Hello my dear townspeople!" A lightly accented voice came onto the microphone. The man was rather short and scrawny, medium length black hair and bad hairline adorning his head. He had a goatee and a scar just above his left eyebrow. "It's the New Year!" The villagers cheered and danced with joy. "We have all gathered here to celebrate not only the New Year, but the future of this island! I have met my future wife and I would like to show her to my people!" Again the people cheered wildly. "Ivan! Bring her forth!"

The Straw Hats' jaws dropped to the ground (and Sanji's eyes grew hearts five times their normal size) as a fat man dragged their missing crew member to the stage. Kya was wearing a long and flowey white strapless dress. Her hair had been braided to the side and was adorned with various flowers. And for the first time in their lives, the crew saw her with various types of makeup on her face. "My Kya-chwan is so beautiful!~"

"Stop gawking and let's go get her!" Zoro shouted at him, pulling out some of his swords. "Kya!" Luffy let out a cry as he shot his arm out, hitting the deck. The people in the crowd were still cheering for some unknown reason as the straw hat boy glared at the man at the microphone. "What is this? A group of pirates causing a disruption at our party?" The man said lowly, and suddenly the townspeople turned to them, their eyes glowing blue. "Stop them!"

Chopper, Usopp, and Nami screamed, holding onto each other. "Sanji, stop them! Me and Zoro will go for these guys!" Luffy yelled as he and his first mate charged through the zombified crowd. "Got it!" The cook called back, kicking some of the people away. The fat man jumped in the way of Luffy, punching him to the ground. "Master Zaroff, take her and run. I will stop the runt!" Zaroff grabbed Kya by the arm tightly. "I didn't realize you had friends." He hissed, making his way for the forest.

"Zoro! Go get Kya back!"

"Got it!" The swordsman ran off quickly, following Zaroff into the woods. He figured Kya still wasn't able to see or else that man would have been killed by now. He came into an open clearing, a large waterfall and a small lake on his right. "Kya! Where are you?" He called out. "She won't be joining you today." A voice told him, coming out from the shadows. "What did you do with her?" Zoro placed his sword in his mouth, ready to advance at any second.

"Why does it matter? You'll never see her again."

* * *

Kya struggled against the rope that tied her to a tree. "Shit." She cursed, kicking the dirt angrily. "What a mess." Blinking her eyes, things began to take shape. "At least this blindness is wearing off." A rustling in the bushes caught her attention. "Let me go you bastard. You're lucky I'm partially blind or you'd be dead by now."

As the person came out of the brush, she could easily tell it was not Zaroff. "Zoro!" She cried, spotting the moss green hair and three swords. He looked at her for moment before removing the katana and placing them up against a tree. He grabbed the one in white and made his way over to her.

"What are you doing? Can you not speak?" She struggled against the ropes angrily as he unsheathed the blade. "What the fuck are you doing?" He still did not answer her as he cut the ropes off her. "Zoro?" He dropped the sword to the ground and took off. She stumbled after him a little ways until they came to ledge.

She let out a small scream as the man in front of her dived off into the ground below. "What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled to no one, balling her hands into fists and putting them on either side of her face. She had a feeling that the person wasn't really Zoro, but who else could it be. "Maybe he was under control like the townspeople." She swallowed hard. "Or maybe it was an illusion. Zoro wouldn't die that easily."

The sound of barking dogs made her freeze. "He's hunting us?!" She ran back to the tree, gathered up the swords and ran. She dodge anything that looked like it could stop her, even if it was only a flower; the downside to not being able to see right. "Luffy? Sanji?" She called out loudly, hiding behind a rock. She could feel the pounding of the feet from the dogs; they were gaining on her.

"I guess this is all I can do." She unsheathed one of the katana and held it lightly in her hand. She never would have imagined something like this to be so heavy; they weighed probably as much as herself. "I've never used one of these in my life." The dogs were merely feet away from her spot, and she launched herself into an opening.

The dogs were large; stopping at her hips. They were skinny and lean with pointing ears. Their black and brown coats shimmered under the moonlight almost as much as their spiked collars. "I think there are ten of you." She chewed her lip, holding the sword tightly in her hands. "But there's only one of me." The dogs charged, snarling and drooling. "Oh fuck."

She made a swiping motion, stupidly closing her eyes. A few whimpers brought her relief at the fact she hit some. "Okay, I think I got this." She counted eight dogs now; she was pretty sure she could handle it now. The largest one in the front punched, knocking her down on her back. She held the blade up, the dog trapping it in between its teeth. She pushed with both hands, realizing too late it was the sharp side. The blade dug into her hand, causing blood to flow from her palm to her elbow. "Shit." She easily kicked the beat of her and into another dog. "Maybe I don't have it."

"Damnit princess, what are you doing with my swords?!"

She was suddenly pushed behind the rock again, the other two swords missing while she held the white one in her hand. "Zoro?" She peered around the rock to see the blurry figure of the first mate, easily fighting off the dogs. "What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean 'what the hell is going on'!? I should be asking you that!" Zoro grumbled, kicking the last dog as it scurried away from him. "I come into the forest to look for you, get attacked by some weird guy, and find you fighting off dogs with my swords." He sighed as he sat down next to her. "What do you mean some weird guy attacked you?"

"_Luffy what the hell are you doing?" Zoro growled as his captain walked into view, a smirk on his face. "You can't take Kya back. She belongs to Zaroff." Luffy's eyes had tint of blue shining in them as he spoke. "You're not Luffy." The swordsman gripped the katanas a little tighter. _

"_Are you sure?" Zoro jumped over the leg that nearly sent him into a tree. "Where's the real Luffy? How are you doing this?" He blocked the oncoming punch with ease. "You talk way too much." Luffy laughed strangely before wrapping his rubbery body around Zoro. He pulled back, knocking the swords out of Zoro's arms and mouth. "You're distracted."_

"_Get the hell off me." The swordsman struggled in the grip, but it was too tight. "When do people ever learn? Once you get here you never leave." His voice was taunting as he forced Zoro into the ground, hitting his head hard. "I'll be taking these." He ripped the sheaths off before placing each katana inside. "Santoryuu, interesting." Luffy hummed before disappearing into the forest. _

"Bastards." He grumbled kicking at the dirt. "That's how I got your swords. But instead of Luffy, it was you and then you, or whoever it was jumped off the ledge. I haven't seen anybody since." She rested her head back against the rock. "So you can see now?" He raised an eyebrow warily.

"Vaguely. It's blurry, but I can tell who is who."

"You didn't tell me you were blind, sweetheart." They quickly stood to their feet as Zaroff walked over to them, a smirk on his cunning face. "Just back off." Zoro pointed a sword at the man, but he only laughed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Stay away from our leader!" Usopp came crashing out of the trees and rammed into Zoro. "What the hell?!" The swordsman kicked him clear across the field. "How are you doing this!?" Kya yelled at the chuckling man. "Easy my dear." He snapped his fingers and the man who was once Usopp suddenly turned into a pudgy man with a bald head and a beard. "Wh-What the hell just happened?!" She gasped, holding onto the rock. "It's easy." With another snap of his fingers the pudgy man turned into Sanji and another one came out of the woods, looking exactly like Kya.

Zoro looked at the clone then back to who he thought was the real assassin. "Kya, run. Get back to the crew. I'll you two mixed up if you don't leave." He said lowly, and she gave him an understanding nod. "Got it." She said before taking off. The Sanji clone ran after her, but Zoro jumped in his way.

"Nice try."

Zoro was knocked off his feet, letting clone Sanji run straight past him. "Fuck." He wiped the blood off his mouth and glared at the clone Kya. "Guess it's just you and me now." Strangely, he didn't have a problem fighting her. Tying his green bandana on his head, he smirked. "Time to get this started."

* * *

Kya ran, tripping constantly over roots and such. "Why does this always happen to us?" She grumbled, leaning back against a tree. "Why can't we just be normal pirates? Why can't we just go to an island and take it over?" She rubbed her head; a migraine was definitely coming on. "I just need to find the others and get out of here."

She ducked quickly as the tree behind her was spilt in two. "Didn't take long to find you." A voice sneered. "I bet you aren't this talkative in your natural form." She snapped, dodging oncoming kicks. He frowned, landing on his feet in front of her. "You're very rude." She took her chance and flipped with her hands on the ground. "Rankyaku." A cloud immersed than man as he flew back into the trees, turning into his original self again. "What the hell kind of Devil Fruit did he eat?" She murmured, rubbing the dirt off her hands. "Where to now?" She looked at the muddy ground, trying to retrace her steps. Thankfully, no one was following her at the moment.

"This is going to take forever." She sighed, closing her eyes. She focused all her energy to her mind, trying to look at her surroundings. A fight was going on just a hundred yards away from her; she wasn't too far off. She began to run; jumping over a fallen branch. The haki was extremely helpful in situations like this, why hadn't she used it before?

Just as she came into the clearing (and stopped relying on haki) she was sideswiped by a rubber arm. "Kya! Don't run off like that ever again!" Luffy chastised her as he nearly crushed her body in a hug. "I didn't run off." She groaned, attempting to push him, but he only snapped right back to her. "And we have other things to worry about." She motioned towards Zoro, who was fighting off an extremely frustrated Zaroff. "Zoro!" The swordsman stopped and looked at his captain, who was untangling his arms from around the assassin. "Move!" The swordsman frowned heavily, but complied. "Gomu Gomu no…Bazooka!"

Profanities were spat as Zaroff flew off into the distance, hopefully never to be seen again. "I could have taken care of him." Zoro grumbled, putting his swords away and waling over to the pair. "You were struggling!" Luffy pointed a finger at him as he laugh, gaining a small chuckle from the pink haired girl. "Kya-san!" A brown furball suddenly clung to her leg tightly. "Chopper." She said softly, bending over and picking him up. "I'm alright." Through her blurry eyes, she could see he was crying and snot was running down his nose. "No need to worry about me!"

"My beautiful Kya-chwan is safe!~" Sanji cooed, twirling over to her as she held the reindeer tightly in her arms. "Not even concerned for any other crew members." Zoro scoffed, crossing his arm. "That is a lie! I care about Nami-swan just as much!" The cook shouted back. "Now, now you guys, we shouldn't be arguing! We should be happy we're all safe!" Usopp waved his hands trying to be peace keeper. "Forget it." Nami groaned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They'll never listen." He sighed lightly and hung his shoulders in defeat. "But-" Two long arms wrapped around the entire crew, followed by Luffy's bright laughter and cheerful voice:

"Group hug!"

* * *

According to Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji: "If an island tries to attack us and we defeat them, we take all their stuff." This is why the crew was hauling food, supplies, and of course, party stuff. "It's New Years!" Luffy shouted from Merry's head, throwing confetti into the air. "It's New Year's Eve dumbass." Nami rolled her eyes, leaning over the railing with a bored expression. "Can we please just get going?"

"I already hauled up the anchor." Zoro informed, rather late if you asked the navigator. She ticked in aggravation, but let it go with a sigh. "My resolution is to stop getting so angry." She said to herself, clenching her fist. "Well maybe you should start meditating." Kya threw in, sitting on the deck as Chopper checked her eyes. Her small cuts were bandaged and he told her the blindness should clear up within the next view days.

"Sanji! Make us some food!" Usopp yelled, holding up a kazoo like a sword. Sanji grumbled something and threw his cigarette out. "Fine, fine." He sung, obviously annoyed, and sauntered off to the kitchen.

As midnight began to approach, the crew gathered around the front deck, drinks and food in hand. "This is going to be the best year we've ever had!" Usopp chuckled loudly, just beginning to get tipsy. "We'll party every day!" Chopper added, his cheeks tinted pink.

"To a new year!"

"Kanpai!"

Everyone chugged their glass, their minds full of thoughts about what this year held. "I bet will meet a lot of cool guys!" Chopper twirled around, clinging onto Kya's leg so he couldn't fall. "Or maybe some really scary ones!" Usopp began to shake. "You're an idiot." Sanji informed, slapping the sharpshooter on the back so he fell onto the deck ace first. "You guys cannot hold your alcohol!" Nami shouted, her face and neck red. "It doesn't seem like you can either." Kya muttered, leaning against the railing.

"I w-want to party." Chopper stuttered, swaying back and forth as he tried to walk over to Luffy. "Are you even old enough to drink?" Zoro asked, picking the little reindeer up by his antler. "I-I-I'm a pirate now!" He flailed his legs around, attempting to hit Zoro in the face. She couldn't help but chuckle at the scene before her. "Maybe you should go to bed." She said lightly, taking him away from the swordsman. "Meh, you're babying him." He grumbled, chugging his drink. "He's new, it'll we-" She stopped suddenly as he put his hand on her face, wiping her eyelid and cheek forcefully. "What the hell is on your face?" He held up his hand to show her. "You're an ass. It's just make up. I was supposed to get married today, don't you remember?"

"Ya, well, don't ever wear it again." He wiped his hand on his pants leg and continued to drink. "I saw that you stupid marimo! Don't ever touch my Kya-chwan again!" Sanji was quickly in Zoro's face, his passion burning like flames around him. "And what are you going to do about it ero-cook?" The swordsman's smirk at Sanji's boiling anger was clear under the moonlight. "Oh dear." Kya sighed, holding the unconscious Chopper tightly. "Hey everyone!" Luffy stood from his place on the figurehead. "Cheers to a great year!" He held out his glass, didn't wait for anyone to cheer, and gulped the whole thing down. "Let's party forever!" The rubber boy clearly didn't understand when enough was enough. He swayed back and forth before finally falling into blue sea.

"You dumbass!"

* * *

**Not my best, and certainly not on time. I'm going to get better on updating you guys I promise. 3**


	26. Sour Girl

**Chapter 24**

**"We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down."- Kurt Vonnegut**

* * *

It had only been a day after sailing off from Drum Island, and they had already run out of rations. Of course it wasn't hard to pinpoint who the culprit was. "No, nope, no way. I don't know anything about it." Luffy said quickly, avoiding Sanji's glare. "Not at all. Not me." He whistled to the side, his sweating coming down like bullets. "Hey, why do you keep looking away? Look straight into my eyes. Now let me ask you." Sanji puffed a cloud of smoked from his mouth. "How is it that the rations for 9 that I had saved up to take us to Alabasta….suddenly disappeared in the middle of the nite?" He reached down and grabbed Luffy's face as he burped. "Resistance is futile; you'd be a terrible poker player. Hey, there's something around your mouth."

"Crap leftovers!"

Kya chuckled as Sanji sent the boy flying into the wall. "It was you!" He yelled, obviously not noticing the three fishermen chomping down on the last of the food. "I guess we'll have to have traps set up to keep him out." She suggested, lazily leaning over the railing next to Nami with her head in her hand. Today had been quite a slow day; Zoro was sleeping next to the fuming Sanji, Luffy was now unconscious after being kicked into the wall, Chopper, Usopp and Carue were fishing for more food while Vivi watched. "Oh Nami-swan, can you believe that asshole?" Sanji asked dramatically. "You gotta buy me a refrigerator with a lock on it!" The navigator frowned, glowering at her crewmates as they noisily chomped on their food. "Yeah, I'll think about it. Our lives probably depend on it…" She sighed. "Okay…..Better catch some fish for Sanji-kun!"

Nami's fist collided with the three, knocking them off the railing. "So, Vivi, you should probably explain what's happening before we get to Alabasta." She suggested as the girl sat against the wall. "Well, as you know Crocodile is the head of Baroque Works, but he's also the hero of Alabasta." She said lightly as Kya jumped down and sat next to her. Nami leaned against the mast while Luffy sat next to her and Sanji sat on a barrel on his other side; Zoro was still asleep in the middle of it all. "Hero?! Crocodile is the hero of Alabasta?!" Nami repeated, waving her hitting hand lightly. "Basically the Shichibukai are pirates working for the government." Vivi explained. "Whether the Shichibukai crush pirates for treasure, or the Marines crush pirates in the name of justice, the people's gratitude doesn't change." She folded her hands in front of her. "After all, their town's attackers are driven away."

"I get it now." Sanji said over Zoro's snores. "The people would never even dream that the hero of Alabasta is actually trying to take control of their country." Luffy suddenly stood up, punching his arm out. "So look out Crocodile! I just need to kick his ass right?!" Vivi smiled at him but nodded. "Yes…first, we'll stop the rebellion. If we can drive the Baroque Works out, my country will be saved."

"You really care about you're country, don't you?" Kya asked quietly, crossing her nearly bare legs; it had been unusually warm today, so she had decided to go with a pair of white shorts and black tank top. "A country is made up of people, and that should be a leader's number one concern." She explained firmly, earning a nod of approval from the assassin. "Wait hold on. How does this Baroque Works system work anyways? Mr. this and Ms. that." Usopp suddenly butted in. "The system is simple: at the top is Crocodile, Mr. 0. There are 13 agents who take orders directly from the boss; 12 men and 1 animal. They are paired with female agents who compliment their particular powers. Mr. 13 and Ms. Friday are special in that they punish the other agents for failure.

"All the agents from Mr.5 and up are called Officer Agents. Most of them have Devil Fruit powers. They don't act unless the business is extremely important. Below them are the Frontier Agents. The command the basic units. Their job is to raise funds for the company around the entrance to the Grand Line. That is the secret organization Baroque Works in a nutshell." Vivi let out a small breath after she explained it, and Luffy jumped up again. "I get it now! Look out Crocodile! I just need to kick his ass, right?!" He repeated what he said earlier. "You didn't understand a word she said, did you?" Sanji muttered, blowing smoke from in between his lips.

Kya leaned her head back against the wall. "Then that means, is the takeover of Alabasta is Baroque Works final plan," She started. "Then, the Officer Agents should all-" Vivi cut her off. "Yes. Be together." She finished for the pink haired girl, staring at the ground intensely. "So, we're basically up against a Shichibukai and top agents from a secret agency. Should be fun, right?"

* * *

They had been on the sea for around five days now, and we're still struggling for food; they hadn't eaten in four days. It was another warm day, so she decided to sport a black tube top and jean shorts. She was currently reading an older novel by Nami's mikan trees; something she didn't get to do too often.

She was on the last chapter of the book when she could hear Vivi yelling. "I should probably go check on them." She mumbled, flipping the page. "But then again, Nami can handle it." She figured, crossing her legs as the bright sun beat down on her.

Smiling softly, she came to the last two pages; there wasn't a better feeling in the world than finishing a good book. Just as she began to read the first sentence of the page, the smell of sulfur drove her out of serenity. "I guess it's time to go check things out." She grumbled, dog-earing the page and setting it down.

"What's going on?" She came over to Nami, Vivi and Sanji by the kitchen. "And why are they fishing with Carue?" She pointed at Luffy and Usopp, who had the poor duck tied up and hanging over the water by their fishing poles. "We're just going through a hotspot. And they're just getting some food." Nami explained as Vivi deadpanned.

"We caught an okamaaaaaa!"

"Oh no! How did I get stuck on this weird giant duck?!"

The came out of the hotspot, only to see the okama, who had been hanging onto Carue, fall off and plunge into the water. "He's not coming back up…" Luffy noted, pursing his lips. "Maybe he's a Devil Fruit user?" Usopp suggested, peering over into the water. "Zoro!"

After grumbling incoherent profanities, the swordsman dragged the okama back on board. The man fell to his knees next to the mast in front of Nami, Zoro, Luffy, Chopper and Kya. The assassin gave him an awkward once over; he was wearing two swans with their wings out on the back of his jacket, a collared shirt with two swans on it, puffy shorts, and ballet slippers. Of course, his face was covered in makeup and he had two furry balls on his head to match the ones on the bottom of his jacket. "I will never forget this. Might I have a cup of soup?"

"No! We're hungry too!"

The okama suddenly looked up, making a peculiar face. "Oooooh. We'll aren't you a cutie! I'd like to gobble you right up!" He said in a sweet voice to Vivi. "So you can't swim either?" Luffy laughed, changing the subject. "Yes. I ate a Devil Fruit." The okama explained. "Really?! What kind?!" Usopp shouted excitedly. "Yes well, I must wait for my ship to come back anyways, so I might as well put on a show. This is my power!" He suddenly shoved his right hand into Luffy's face forcibly. "Luffy!" Kya quickly pulled out her dagger and shoved it in the strange man's face. He touched his face, and suddenly he was Luffy. "Waaaaaiiiiittttt! I told you this was my show!" He laughed, but in Luffy's exact tone and voice. She dropped her arm, her eyes wide. "H-How the hell…." She trailed off, turning around. Zoro's eyes were wide as he held his swords, and everyone's jaw had dropped to the ground. "Stooooppp joking aroooound cutie pie!" The okama (Luffy?) got in her face and laughed.

"Huh?! It's me!" The real Luffy placed his hat on his hand and looked at his twin. "They're identical!" Usopp cried fearfully. "Surprise surprise!" The okama said before touching his face and turning back to himself. "Touch my face with my left hand and it goes back to normal! This is the power of the Mane Mane no Mi!"

Kya backed up next to Luffy as he touched the other crew members faces. "Whoa, coooool!" Luffy awed at him. "Well, it's not necessary for me to punch you for it to work. If I just touch your face…" He turned into Usopp, voice and all. "…with my right hand…" Zoro. "…I can imitate anyone…" Chopper. "..just like this!" And finally, Nami. "And your bodies too." He opened his shirt up, making Usopp, Luffy and Chopper gasp. "Stop it!" Nami was quick to end the flashing. "Ouchie." He complained before jumping to his feet. "I'm sorry that's all I can show you-"

"You're awesome!"

"Do some more!"

"Very weeeeeel!"

Kya hung her head as the man twirled; she didn't like him at all. "I've also got a perfect memory!" The three boys cheered. "Every face I've ever touched, I never forget a single one." He bragged, going through a few faces. "Ridiculous…" Zoro muttered from his seat behind the assassin and navigator. "He needs to go." The pink haired girl muttered, rubbing her temple. She wasn't going to be able to finish her book anytime soon.

"How do you like my super special talent?!"

"Cooooool!"

"I usually never show this to people!"

They four of them began to jump and kick around, arms linked behind each other's shoulders as they chanted 'stop joking around!' over and over again. "Someone kill them." Nami groaned, turning away. "Hey! There's a ship coming this way. Is it yours?" She pointed at the equally flamboyant ship heading towards them. "Oh me my me! Is it time to leave already? Too bad!" The okama jumped up on the railing as the boys whined pathetically. "Do not be sad my babies! Separation is inevitable! Never forget me! Length of time means nothing to true friendship!" He gave a thumbs up before flipping onto his ship. "We'll see you again!"

"Let's go my lovies!"

"Yes sir! Mr. 2 Bon Clay-sama, sir!"

As the ship sailed away, it hit them; he was a part of Baroque Works. "Mr. 2?!" Usopp screamed, his jaw on the floor. "That was Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" Vivi shouted, her eyes wide with surprise. "We're all idiots." Kya muttered, sitting on the ground angrily. "Vivi! Didn't you recognize his face?!" Luffy yelled at the princess. "No, I've never met Mr. 2 or the Mr. 1 pair. I didn't know that he had any powers either!" She fell to her knees in distraught. "But I did hear rumors about him….that he was a huge okama, talked like an okama, wore a swan coat which had 'okama way' written on his back…" She covered her mouth her hand as Usopp, Luffy, and Zoro shamed her. "You should've noticed."

"One of those past faces he showed off of memory was my father's…" She held her hand against her forehead, trying to stop her anger and frustration. "What in the world will he use my father's face for?!" She ground out. "He could definitely do some bad things with that." Zoro commented, crossing his arms. "We just let a really dangerous guy get away." Usopp said, obviously frustrated. "He was an enemy…?" Chopper asked innocently; he still hadn't fully grasped the whole Baroque Works deal.

"Well, he will be dangerous if he turns into an enemy!" Nami said suddenly. "Assuming he finds out we're his enemies, if he uses his memory to turn into one of us, he won't be able to trust each other." She figured, which was a valid point. "Aye, the only people he doesn't have are Sanji and myself." Kya informed them. "Really?" Luffy cocked his head to the side and Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen Luffy, wait a minute. She may have a point, but there's no need to be afraid of him. I think we're lucky that we met him, now we can use countermeasures."

Just as the swordsman was about to explain what exactly he, meant the water beneath the ship began to quake. "What the hell…" Kya steady herself just as what looked to be a giant cat popped out next to Merry. It meowed loudly, holding its paw out as if it were to attack the Straw Hats. "What is that?!" She cried, looking at the massive creature. "A sea cat!" Vivi yelled, somewhat fearful and somewhat surprised. "A sea monster!" Usopp and Chopper shouted together, nearly fainting.

Of course, Zoro and Luffy were up and ready to take it on. "Our first meal in four days!" The swordsman was crazed from hunger, his swords out and ready. "Food! Food!" The look on Luffy's face could possibly scare even a psychopath. The two idiots obviously scared the poor creature, as it began to move slowly back into the water. "No, it's retreating!" Luffy yelled, twisting his arm. "Put the ship in reverse!" Zoro was close to jumping off the railing after the sea creature. "You can't do that!" Kya informed the two idiots, rubbing her forehead. Suddenly, after being hidden for so long, Sanji came out from the galley, a determined look on his face. "Don't let it get away! Make sure you kill it!" He shouted at the two other boys.

"Noo!"

Vivi was quick to punch the three boys on the back of the head. _'She's turning into Nami.'_ Kya deadpanned, backing away from the scene slowly. "W-What's wrong Vivi-chan?" Sanji cooed in his inebriated state. "Jeez, Vivi you asshole." Luffy wasn't quite as charming. "You can't eat it! Sea cats are sacred in Alabasta." She informed everyone.

Kya frowned deeply; they were being followed. "There sure are lots of weird things in the ocean." Chopper murmured lightly, holding onto her leg. "Y-Y-You're still a k-k-kid if that kinda s-s-s-tuff s-s-scares you!" Usopp chuckled nervously, his entire body shaking before he stood in a warrior-like pose. "Okay, time for me to tell you about the time I bravely fought with sea monsters on the calm belt." Kya snorted at the statement and crossed her arms. It was at this moment she spotted the first few ships heading towards them. "With sea monsters?!" Chopper asked innocently, moving away from her side. "Yeah! The giant kind!"

"M-My food got away." Luffy was clinging onto the railing with his teeth, a waterfall of tears coming from his eyes. "Don't worry; you'll be able to eat all you want soon." Vivi comforted, earning a surprised gasp from the boy. "Really?! What kind of cat will it be this time?!"

"Vivi! The wind and temperature seem to have stabilized." Nami shouted, coming up onto the back deck with the others. "Yes, we've entered the Alabastan climate zone. The sea cat is more proof." The princess told her. "I bet those things behind us are even more proof we're closer to Alabasta." Zoro smirked, mentioning the Baroque Works' ships Kya had been carefully watching the entire time.

"Look at all these ships, when did they-?!"

"Hey they all have Baroque Works signs on them!"

"All the members are coming together!"

"A-lright! Let's shoot them with the canon now!" Usopp was shaking violently as Luffy grabbed his arm. "No it would be faster just to go over there and kick their asses! No, wait I have to eat first." Luffy was indecisive about his thoughts, making the assassin shake her head in defeat. "Stop getting worried." Zoro smirked, but he was easily ignored. "Those are probably the billions!" Luffy cried, looking out a sea with his hand shielding his eyes. "Servants of the officer agents…" Kya chewed her bottom lip, trying to imagine how many people were on those ships. "200 of them will be tough…"

"And these are different from the elite bounty hunters Baroque Works hired for Whiskey Peak." Vivi was beginning to sweat nervously at the sight. "Yeah, all is lost if we lose sight of our main objective. There is only 9 of us." Sanji tapped the edge of his cigarette, letting the ashes fall slowly to the ground. Zoro suddenly stood to his feet and walked off into the storage room. Everyone shot confused glances, weirded out by the swordsman's quick departure. "Strange guy." Sanji muttered, earning a snort from the assassin.

"I've got a plan." Zoro came back, holding a wad of Chopper's medical tape and a marker. He took the marker, opening it with his mouth, and wrote an 'X' on the back of his left wrist. "Here's to make sure we all know who everyone is." He explained, passing the marker off to Sanji. "Well what's with the medical tape?" Kya pointed with her head to it in his hand. He ripped a long piece of it off and tossed it to her. "It's so no one can copy us. If they don't know what's underneath, all we have to do is rip it off of them to see if they have an 'X'." The crews' mouths nearly dropped to the floor at the fact the swordsman had come up with something as brilliant as this. "So tie them on tight." He sat down on the steps and tied the tape around his wrist with his mouth. "Our enemies have plenty of mysteries."

"I see." Vivi nodded, tying Nami's around her small wrist. "As long as we can see these, we don't need to doubt one another." The navigator couldn't help but smile a little at the idea. "Does he really look like us that much? When he does use is Mane Mane no Mi thing…" Sanji asked as Kya tied his for him, and he did the same for her. "He doesn't _**look**_ like us, he _**is **_us. Too bad, you really should've seen it. We were even dancing!" Usopp exclaimed, sitting next to the chef. "I'm not interested in okamas." He muttered while he lit another cigarette, making the assassin laugh. "You and I are the only ones who didn't get touched by his hand." She explained before turning to Zoro as he spoke. "Now that we know he is among the enemy, we can't allow for any careless individual actions." He hit his wrist with his fist lightly. "Hey, what should I do?!" Chopper piped up; still being fairly new to the crew, he was worried that everyone would find him weak and unable to be their nakama. "Just do what you can, nothing else. Run away from enemies you can't beat! Just do your best!" Usopp told him firmly from his seat on the crate. Kya snorted next to him and shook her head. "You're just telling yourself that." Carue gave a quack in agreement as his bandage was tied by Sanji. "What I can do…. Got it!"

"We're coming up to the harbor." Nami informed everyone. "Let's stop in that inlet to the west; we have to hide the ship." Suddenly, Luffy thrusted his arm out. "Okay! Whatever happened from now on, this left arm…is proof of our friendship!" Everyone followed in suit, forming a circle with their left arms held out and their hands balled into fists in the middle. "Now, let's get onto dry land!" He smiled, pulling back, then suddenly grabbed his stomach tightly. "To a restaurant! Then Alabasta." Nami proceeded to hit him in the head. "Shut up you idiot!"

Just as Zoro dropped the anchor into the sea, Luffy jumped off the Merry and headed, full speed, into the town. "Restaurant!" He cried, quickly disappearing. "Wait a minute!" Kya grabbed her side lightly, leaning onto the railing for support. Her side hadn't managed to fully heal, and it had been bothering her for a while. _'I should probably take it easy for a while.'_ She thought, letting out a breath slowly to ease the pain.

"What should we do now? Nanohana is a large town." Vivi looked overly distressed as they all stood next to the Merry. "It will be very hard to search for Luffy-san!" Everyone merely shrugged it off; their stomachs were too empty to be worrying about him. "Don't worry Vivi-chan, we'll just look for the noisiest spot in town. He'll be there." Sanji told her, casually shrugging his shoulders. "You got that right!" Usopp laughed. "Anyways, I wish he would pay more heed to the bounty on his head. Especially in a big country like this one." Nami complained, fanning herself. "Just let him take care of himself." Kya muttered, closing her eyes. She was rather enjoying the heat of the island, unlike back at Drum. "Let's go eat. We can think things through after that."

"Wait!"

Everyone stopped and looked at where Vivi was pointing to. There, in another small inlet, was a small ship with a 'Mr. 3' painted on the side of it and a 3 as its figurehead. "That's Mr. 3's ship!" Kya frowned angrily. "He was supposed to be dead." She grumbled, thoroughly frustrated with Baroque Works' agents. "That ship can only move through his Doru Doru no Mi fruit. He must be in the kingdom." Vivi chewed her lip nervously. "Hold on! I have an idea!" Usopp pulled a giant tarp from his pack. "We'll use this to disguise ourselves!"

Ignoring everyone's protest, they all gathered under the sand colored material. "This is stupid." Kya muttered, trying to push the hefty swordsman's body away from her. "How come Sanji and Chopper don't have to walk under here?" She let out a small yelp as he grabbed her hair and nearly plummeted her face into the ground. "Mr. 3 doesn't know what they look like, so they don't have to worry about hiding." Nami explained to her, kicking Usopp in the leg. "Stop tripping me!" She screeched, earning a glare from everyone under the tarp. "Keep it down. People will notice!"

Eventually, after almost crashing into every stand possible (no thanks to their two guides) they ended up in a secluded, run down part of Nanohana. "Chopper and I are going to get some food." Sanji informed, grabbing the panting reindeer. "Oh, Sanji-san!" Vivi called out before the two turned the corner. "Yes, Vivi-chaaan!~" He swayed back and forth, holding his hands together in front of his face. "Please get us some clothes so we fit in with the citizens!"

"Hai, hai, hai, hai!~"

"Pervert cook." Zoro muttered, sitting down against a broken wall. "He isn't so bad, Mr. Bushido." Vivi smiled down at him, and he grunted in reply. Kya snuck around the corner of the building, peering into the busy street life. Everyone seemed to be just regular citizens, no sign of anyone suspicious. Looking closer, she could make out the bright white uniforms of the Marines gathered on the far side of the large market.

"There are Marines here." Usopp nearly doubled over with a heart when she returned. "D-D-D-Don't do that to me!" He stuttered, clutching his chest tightly. "Sorry." She said apologetically before turning to Vivi and Nami. "There doesn't seem to be that many, but we should still be careful. They probably know who we are by now."

* * *

It seemed like hours before Sanji finally returned with a bundle of clothes and food; Chopper had a lighter pack, since the high heat was not treating him well. Kya took her bundle inside an abandoned house, sighing lightly. "It's probably some skimpy outfit." She muttered, slowly undressing.

It seemed like she knew exactly how his mind worked. Staring at her reflection in the small bathroom, she frowned. The top was more of a bathing suit; it was white with a golden dragon design over each side and stopped just below her chest, revealing most of her cleavage. Her pants were rather large, but they began just below her hips, and had long slits down each side and in the middle. They too, were also white with golden hemming. She pulled her hair up into a high pony tail, letting a few pieces fall down to frame her small face, and she placed the jeweled head band on top of her head. Lastly, she placed the two bangles on her right wrist, and they jingled slightly whenever they moved. "This should be interesting."

Nami and Vivi were already finished when she returned, dressed in similar attire except they had skirts and a sleeveless and long jacket-like things. "You look more like a princess than I do, Kya-san." Vivi giggled lightly, holding her hand over her mouth. "That outfit makes you look short." Nami snickered, earning a glare from the assassin. "I'll kill you all."

"Sanji-san, these make us look more like dancers than normal citizens." Vivi said lightly, standing awkwardly in her revealing outfit. "Dancers are citizens too! It's okay as long as they don't find out you ladies are pirates and a princess!" His legs were like jelly and hearts grew five times the size of his head where his eyes should be. "But walking through the desert will be-"He cut her off. "If you get tired, I'll carry you!~" He turned to the guys, who were sitting around and eating. "Even if you guys are camouflaged not to look like pirates, compared to the girls you still look like bandits!" It was true; Zoro and Usopp had wraps around their heads and rather long robes. Zoro had ripped the ends of his pants off so they came up to his shins. "How are you any different?" He grumbled at the cook, shoving more food in his mouth. His statement was also rather true; Sanji was in a long robe too, although he didn't have anything covering his head.

"Apple." Kya demanded, holding her hands out. Zoro looked at her over his meat, frowning. "That's not how it works." He grabbed the red fruit, holding it tightly in his hands as he ripped more meat off the bone. She glared at him as he stood to his feet, a small smirk beginning to spread across his thin lips. "You know that outfit…" He moved closer to her, still holding the apple in his hand. "This outfit what?" She winced at the thought of all the possible things he could say.

"It makes you look really short."

An irritated vein popped up on her forehead as she clenched her fists tightly. "I. Hate. You." She seethed as he held the apple above his own head. "Try and get it." He said devilishly, making the others) aside from Sanji and Chopper) chuckle lightly. "I hate you." She muttered, crossing her arms under her chest in defeat. "I can't help genetics."

"Hey, what are you doing Chopper?" Usopp diverted their attention to the little reindeer who was Lying on the ground and holding his nose. "My nose is going to fall off." He complained, his voice nasally. "Your nose must be sensitive Tony-kun." Vivi concluded. "Nanohana is famous for its perfume." She explained as he sat up, hooves still over his blue nose. "Perfume?" he repeated; poor little guy still wasn't used to all the new things the world had to offer him. "There are extremely powerful ingredients in it…" The princess tried to explain before Nami interrupted. "Like this?" She sprayed the pungent fragrance on her neck lightly. "Stop it! Stop it!" Chopper cried, burying his face into the side of Kya's pants. "I'll fall in love all the way to the gates of hell!~" Sanji was quick to be by Nami's side, swooning over her every chance he got. "Can you get any dumber?" Zoro was chugging his alcohol now, still holding the damn apple in his hand tightly. "What!?" The two boys began their usually one-on-one arguments over simple stuff, until Nami ended it with her fists.

"Well. I've collected up the materials to make a journey through the Alabasta desert. Where are we going Vivi?" Sanji asked once he nourished the large bump on his head. "Well first and foremost I want to stop the rebellion. We don't know when they'll rise up and cause needless bloodshed." The look on Vivi's face was a mixture of determination and anger; Kya had respected the young girl for her will to stop the fighting in her country. Most princesses would never think to be involved in anything like this. "And the base of the rebellion where the leader lives is an oasis town called Yuba. To get to Yuba, we-"

"Wait, hide!"

Zoro suddenly pushed the young girl to the ground, leaning against the broken wall to peer at the commotion behind it. "Marines." He groaned as the assassin picked up Chopper into her arms. "How annoying. Why are they even over here?" She scoffed, listening to their loud cries. "They must have found a pirate or something." The swordsman answered her, trying to make out the figure at the lead of the pack.

"Not you!"

Luffy was currently running full speed away from a large group of Marines, his jaw slack. He glanced to the side, matching the faces to the voices he just heard. "Hey, Zoro! Kya!" He suddenly turned in their direction, laughing his ass off. The two pirates deadpanned angrily; she held onto Chopper tightly as the others began to quickly gather the provisions. "Get back, men!" Another familiar voice called out, making the pirates stop in their tracks. "You're not getting away!" Suddenly, Smoker plummeted through the Marines, smoking unfurling from his body like petals on a flower. "White Blow!" He shouted, his hand extending from his arm, leaving a cloud of smoke behind it.

Just as the powerful punch was about to hit Luffy, what looked to be an inferno jumped in the line of fire. "Heat Haze!" A person seemed to be the cause of the strange source of fire, but he couldn't be made out yet. "What the hell…" Kya muttered, watching the scene strangely. "What do you want?" Smoker growled at the new person. "Cut it out." Her eyes widened slightly at the voice. "No…." As the smoke and fire began to clear away a little, it revealed a young topless man in a pair of cargo shorts and boots. He had an orange hat on top of his head, a beaded necklace, and a small pistol attached to his belt. On his bare back was an extravagant and large tattoo; a cross made of bones with a memorable Jolly Roger in the middle. Fire extended from his fingers and other parts of his body, indicating he was a Devil Fruit user. "You may be smoke but I am fire. Your powers don't stand a chance against mine."

"Who is that?!" Nami and Usopp cried out fearfully behind Luffy. The young captain's mouth was open and his eyes were wide at the sight of the man in front of him. "Ace…?!" He nearly shouted, sweating coming down his face from his previous run. "Ace…." Kya repeated, her voice wavering from shock. The man turned slightly, a smile spread over his face. "You haven't changed a bit Luffy." He chuckled lightly at the name. She froze at the sight of the freckles and dark hair that hung around his face; she never expected to see him again, especially not here. When his eyes locked with hers, an even bigger smile exploded from his lips. "Kya-chan, long time no see." He chuckled at her pink cheeks before turning back to the problem at hand. "Well, we can't talk like this. You guys run, I'll catch up to you later. I need to stay here and stop these guys for you."

The Straw Hats didn't even begin to question the order, as they were already taking off. Luffy was laughing loudly, earning strange looks from everyone, but still they waited to ask questions. Kya's mind, however, was reeling with questions. She had been pretty sure he was dead, and had been dead, for a while as he had not answered her letters in the past few years. _'That dumbass.' _She growled mentally as they reached the ship in record time. She let go of Chopper, letting him climb back onto the Merry, leaving Luffy, Vivi and Carue on the ground. "Luffy! Get on already!" Sanji shouted, obviously annoyed by his captain's antics, from the deck. "Okay."

"Wait, Carue!"

Vivi pulled her duck aside as Luffy boarded his ship. "I have an extremely important job that only you can do!" She informed her pet, who quacked in response. "Go north to Alubarna and give this letter to my father! This is Crocodile and Baroque Works' conspiracy." She tucked a wad of papers into a safe place on the large duck. "Igaram and I researched it all. Everything's spelled out plain and clear. And tell him I'm alive and in Alabasta with a group of strong willed friends. Can you do that? You have to cross the desert alone." A loud quack answered her. "Okay? Conserve your water in the desert. Now go! Tell my father we can save this country!" Carue took off, stopping about a mile away to drink some of his water. "Conserve your water!"

"You too!" Sanji had nearly kicked Luffy's head in as he gulped down a barrel of water. "You idiot! Our precious water." Usopp was on his knees in tears at the sight, making the rest of the crew sigh. Kya spied the swordsman leaning against the railing, his arms folded across his chest, and made her way over to him. "You owe me an apple." She said in a low, yet serious tone. He smirked again, trying his hardest to laugh. "It's hard to take you seriously in that outfit princess." He noted, looking her up and down. "One of these days, I'm going to kill you."

"Hey, Luffy, how did you know that guy?" Nami asked as they set sail for Yuba. "He's my brother." Luffy answered, sitting on top of the railing. Everyone's jaw dropped to the ground, looking between each other. "Brother?!" Even Kya had no idea the two were related, and she knew both boys. "That guy back there, was your brother?!" Luffy just nodded simply. "Yup. He's my brother."

"Well I'm not surprised you have a brother, but why is he here in the Grand Line?" Zoro asked him, his arms still crossed over his chest. "He's a pirate. He's looking for One Piece. Ace is three years older than me, so he left the island three years before me!" Luffy smiled at his memories. "What are the odds of the both of you eating a Devil Fruit?" Sanji asked from his seat on a barrel. "I know! I was surprised too. He hadn't eaten one before; even then I couldn't beat him in a fight. Ace is really strong!"

"Not even once? Against a regular human?" Nami's mouth was agape at what she just heard. "The monster's brother must be one hell of a monster." Usopp muttered, his legs beginning to shake lightly. "But I could beat him now!" Luffy laughed loudly, making everyone deadpan. "That's a groundless statement." Zoro shook his head. Just as he spoke, a figure jumped up behind Luffy. "Just who…" He landed on the railing, knocking Luffy off. "Can you beat?" Ace was squatting, his hand on his hat (which had two beads on the front; one smiling and the other frowning). "Speak of the devil and he will come." Kya muttered, a small frown adorning her lips. "Ace!" Luffy cried, getting back up to his feet. "Yo." The older boy nodded at him, then bowed to the rest of the crew. "Hey everyone, thanks for taking care of my brother." The crew lowered their heads in return. "No kidding."

"So why are you here Ace?"

"Huh? You didn't get my message in Drum?"

"Drum?"

"Ah, never mind. No biggie." Ace shook his head lightly at his brother, flashing a small smile at the pink hair girl. "Anyways, I'm glad I saw you. I'm here for a silly little task so I figured I'd try and meet up with you here. Luffy, will you come join the Whitebeard Pirates, with your friends too of course." He had an extremely serious look on his face. "No way." Luffy said, a confused tone in his voice, making Ace laugh. "Just thought I'd ask!"

"Whitebeard? So the mark on your back is real?" Usopp gulped lightly. "Yes, it's my pride and joy. Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever known. I want to make him the Pirate King, not you Luffy." Ace said blatantly. "That's okay! I'll just fight him!" Luffy answered, a smile spreading on his brother's face. "I thought you wanted to be the head of your own crew?" Kya asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Things have changed since we last spoke!" He said defensively, rubbing the back of his head nervously. She pursed her lips at him, ignoring the stares she was getting from the rest of the crew.

"Why don't you come inside if you want to talk? I'll make some tea." Sanji offered, being polite to a man for once. "Oh, no. Don't worry about me, this will only take a minute." Ace waved him off awkwardly. "Those Marines haven't come after us at all." Nami finally spoke, grasping the fact Luffy had a brother who seemed to be the complete opposite of him. "Yeah, I threw them off track with my Mera Mera powers." Just as he spoke, his stomach grumbled loudly, causing a dark shade of red to spread over his cheeks. "I might have to take you up on that offer from earlier."

* * *

Lunch was going its regular way and everyone was enjoying their meal until Ace suddenly fell asleep in his food. "What the hell?!" Nami and Vivi practically flew from their seats and into the wall. "We've killed him!" Usopp was practically in tears while Chopper ran around, screaming 'Doctor!' over and over again. "I thought you'd grow out of this." Kya muttered from the hatted pirate's side, poking his shoulder with her fork. "Neh, Kya-chan." Luffy started to grab food off his brother's plate. "How do you know Ace?" The rest of the crew heavily agreed with the question, making her sigh. "I've known him for a while, actually. When I first got to East Blue, I was running from some people and he helped me get away. Although, that might actually be counted as kidnapping." She smiled lightly at the sleeping man. "We sailed together for a while until we came to Loguetown. I wasn't ready to go to Grand Line, but that was his dream and we parted ways there."

"You wouldn't call it kidnapping. Admit it, you liked sailing with me." Ace sat up suddenly, giving the others a heart attack. She snorted, handing him a napkin to wipe the food off his face. "Whatever. At least I don't pass out every ten minutes." He flashed her a smile. "Can't help it dear."

"Dishes." Sanji threw towels at Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Zoro; ignoring their grumbles of protest. "Why doesn't Ace have to do it too?!" Luffy whined, practically throwing himself on the ground. "Ace is our guest, that's why." Sanji kicked him in the head, gathering the dishes off the table. "Oh, it's really no trouble. I can help." Ace smiled, shoving the rest of the food in his mouth. "Don't worry about anything. Kya-chwan, Nami-swan, Vivi-chan~! After the boneheads do the dishes I'll make you something sweet!" The chef twirled his way over to the sink, yelling at the boys to do a better job.

"Kind of chauvinistic, eh?" Ace chuckled as Vivi and Nami went outside, talking about Alabasta. "Yes, sometimes a bit in your face, but he isn't a bad guy." Kya answered, running her finger along the rim of her tea cup. "I'm sorry." He said suddenly. "I should have written you. I got caught up in things over here." He removed his hat, placing it on the table. "I understand. You probably wouldn't have been able to find me anyways. I kept moving from island to island. I didn't expect to be a pirate."

"Why did you join my brother's crew?"

She laughed at the question. "It's hard to say no to Luffy. I guess you could say he saved me too." He laughed loudly, leaning back in his chair. "Saved by brothers; that can't be a coincidence." She shook her head, noting the tattoo on his arm. "I don't remember that. Did they spell your name wrong or something?" She poked his bicep lightly. "Ah, kind of. The guy messed up the C, and I told him to just make an S and cross it out; for Sabo." He informed, flexing and flashing his trademark smile. "You're a strange man." He chuckled, drinking his water before getting serious. "Have they been after you?" His voice was low; it was obvious he knew that the Straw Hats had no idea about the people in her past.

"They've found me. I'll have to leave before anyone gets hurt though." She admitted, looking down at the table. "You'll figure a way out of this, shortstack." He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "Oh! That reminds me. I got you something a while back!" She raised an eyebrow as he dug in his pockets. _'Oh god, it's going to be something stupid like always.' _She thought, biting her lip in anticipation. "I promise you it's not _**too**_ stupid." He practically read her mind as he pulled the gift out of his pocket. "Here you go!"

She couldn't help but chuckle as he placed the small beaded necklace in her hand. "Really?" The necklace looked it exactly like his, except the beads were smaller. "You don't like it?" He pouted and she shook her head. "Of course I do! It was unexpected. I haven't received a gift in a long time." She admitted quietly, putting the item around her neck. "Well no need to thank me shortstack. It's about time for me to go. We'll see each other soon, alright?" He stood up, putting his hat back on. "Do you really have to leave so soon?" She followed him out, suddenly saddened by his quick visit. "I'm on a mission shortstack. I need to find the guy I'm looking for." He held the door open for her. "Who are you looking for exactly?"

"A man. He committed the worst crime; killing a nakama. It's my duty to find him. The last place he was spotted was here in Alabasta." He turned around to face her. "I'm sorry." She frowned and he laughed. "You always worry too much shortstack." He suddenly pulled her in for a hug. "Take care of yourself, shortstack. And watch out for Luffy too."

The rest of the crew meandered their way to where Ac had first entered the ship. He stood on the railing and tossed something to his brother. "Here. I wanted to give this to you. Always keep that with you!" He said simply, and Luffy looked at the item with a confused face. "It's a piece of paper…" He muttered, trying to figure out its secret. "Yup. That paper will let us meet again."

"Wow…"

"Don't want it?" Luffy quickly changed his expression to one of excitement. "No..I do!" Ace just chuckled. "Having a dumb little brother makes an older brother worry. He probably gives you guys lots of trouble too. Take care of him for me." He jumped down onto his little boat. "What?! You're leaving already?! You can chill out her a little longer! I haven't seen you in so long!" Luffy was leaning over the edge, watching his brother untie the one person boat. "I told you I only came to do that. I'm chasing a major criminal right now. He's been calling himself Blackbeard lately but he used to be a part of the Whitebeard Second Division; my subordinate. I'm the commander so I have to finish him off. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be back here in this part of the sea." He threw the ropes on his boat. "The next time we meet will be at the Pirates' Summit!"

With a step of his foot, Ace was off, a blaze of fire in his wake. "How could someone that sensible be Luffy's brother?!" Nami was still in shock. "I was sure he would be as irresponsible as Luffy." Usopp muttered quietly. "Brotherhood is a wonderful thing." Chopper cried into Kya's leg. "What a great guy, cares about his brother…" Zoro struggled to actually say something nice for once. "The sea's a mysterious place." Sanji added, putting out his cigarette. "Please, everyone…." Vivi tried to end the shock as Luffy waved goodbye to Ace. "See you later!"

* * *

Night had fallen quickly; the crew was almost to their destination. Kya was on watch, practically smothered in blankets. "It's too damn cold." She muttered through chattering teeth. Her hand brushed against her new necklace, making her sigh. She had a terrible feeling about Ace leaving so soon; she hoped that it wouldn't be the last time she saw him. She shook her head, frowning at the thought.

"_Which way is the port?"_

_A 15 year old Kya turned the corner on a street she knew nothing about. They ship had just crossed the Calm Belt and was now in East Blue. She figured while the guys were eating would be the perfect chance to slip away, but one of them had spotted her. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." She kept turning corners until she finally reached the bustling square. "I could get lost in here."_

_Managing to grab about a dozen wallets, she figured it was best to actually find a way off this island. "It was by a bunch of fish markets." She ducked under a silver street performer, spotting a group of World Government officers a few feet away. "It's probably that way too." She bite her lip in thought before turning around and running straight into what felt like a brick wall. _

"_I think you have something I want."_

_Rubbing her head, she looked up at the annoyed voice. It was a boy around her age, most likely a little bit older. He had black shaggy hair, dark eyes, freckles and he wore an open yellow shirt with shorts and boots. He had a strange hat on his head and at the end of the strings was a small skull of some animal. "You have my wallet. I would like it back." He helped her up, chuckling a bit when she only stopped at his chest. "You have to do something in return for me." He raised an eyebrow at her deal. "Oh? And what's that?" She looked back at the men in uniforms getting closer every second. "Get me off the island. Right now." Looking back at him, it seemed he noticed the World Government uniforms also. "Follow me."_

_He was surprised when she ran just as fast as him, almost faster. "My ship is sort of small, but so are you so you'll manage." She didn't crack a smile at his joke, only stared straight ahead. "We just need to leave as soon as possible without being noticed." Her voice was low and dark. _

_When they arrived at the port, she just stared at his ship blankly. "This is…your ship?" She asked incredulously. He nodded, untying the ropes. "More of a boat I guess. But hurry and climb on, we don't have all day." She muttered something incoherent and climbed aboard. "It's more of a shoebox really." _

"_So what are you running from?" He asked her right after they set sail. She curled up in the blankets, trying to stay out of view from any other ships. "I just got caught up in some things…" She had no emotion in her voice making him laugh. "If you're going to sail with me, you'll have to talk more." He sat down across from her, slapping his fists on his knees. "I'm guessing your troubles have something to do with the World Government, am I correct?" She nodded lightly. "I like you kid. I'm a pirate, looking for One Piece so we'll be running together. Name's Ace." He held his hand out for her to shake. She looked at him strangely. "Pirates are stupid. One Piece doesn't exist, and you're not even in the Grand Line yet." He still flashed a big smile under his freckles, making her sigh. She grabbed his muscular hand with her delicate one, squeezing lightly. "Kya."_

The sound of footsteps brought her out of her memories, and she looked over to see Zoro reaching the top of the crow's nest. "It's my turn." He grunted, pulling himself over the edge. "But it's cold." She complained, pulling the blankets closer to her. Sighing, he sat down next to her, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's warmer in the room." She buried her face into the fabric. "I know."

"Then why don't you just go?"

"Because it's cold."

He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "You really are quite annoying." He muttered, making her snort. "You're one to talk." She answered haughtily, pulling the blanket down. "Wasn't that Luffy's brother's necklace?" He placed his hands in his pockets, staring at the new piece of jewelry around her neck. "Ah, no. It just looks like it." She said quietly, grabbing it. "He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ya. Without him, I wouldn't have been here today."

"So, you mean you would have been dead?" His voice was a lot softer than usual, but he tried to hide it with an emotionless tone, making her smile. "I honestly have no idea where I would be today." She stood up quickly, tossing him the blankets, hitting him in the face. "Goodnite Zoro." He grunted in reply, making her laugh as she went down the ladder. "Have a fun watch!"

* * *

**Well I just got over the flu. (not fun). Here is a long-ish chapter. I really like Ace. This chapter made me really sad because I wish he wasn't dead. :(**


	27. Journey in the Land of Sand

**Chapter 25**

**"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it."- George Moore**

* * *

Although his brother hadn't stayed to chat for more than a few hours, Luffy was still as happy as ever. He still had no idea what the piece of paper Ace had given him was, but Nami sewed it into his hat for him. "Thanks Nami! Now I don't have to worry about it! I'll never lose it!" He smiled as he placed his prized possession on his head. "How do you know that?" Usopp grumbled as Vivi came down with a bundle of clothes. "Wear these, Luffy-san." She smiled lightly at him. "Huh? Why? It's hot." He frowned back at her. "You wear it because it's hot. The desert gets over 50 degrees Celsius; you'll get sunburned if your skin is exposed."

"Why are your clothes so skimpy then?"

"We're going to wear coats too." Nami informed him as he grabbed one. "Whaaaat?! You're going to wear those?!" Sanji's heart nearly fell out of his mouth as the princess handed a coat to Kya. Her coat was the exact same style as everyone's but was completely black. "Oh well. I guess I better do it." Luffy sighed as Chopper leaned over the edge of the boat. "Hey! We just rounded the side of the island!" He exclaimed, gaining Vivi's attention. "No, this isn't the side of the island. This is the bank of the river Sandora." She pointed to the mouth of the river as it bled into the sea. "You can see the other side off in the distance, right?" "Oh, you're right!"

The blue haired girl suddenly pulled a map from wherever it was hidden on her body and opened it up in front of them. Kya peered over her shoulder to see she was pointing at the exact place they were at: in between Nanohana and Erumalu. "Look, this is a rough map of the area." She pointed at a spot that read 'Yuba Oasis'. "And this is our destination. It's Yuba; we'll cross the Sandora and head for it!" She had a small, yet encouraging, smile on her face as she spoke. "And Yuba is where the leader of the rebellion is." Zoro concluded, leaning up against the wall. "So I just have to kick his ass right?!" Apparently this was Luffy's ideal thought to everything Vivi said. "Would you stop that!?" She cried angrily, her hands placed together. "I would to persuade the rebellion not to shed any more blood!"

"With a rebellion that large, blood shed is all they know. Will they stop because of you?" Kya questioned, sitting on steps. "Will they stop…" Her voice trembled as she spoke. "We'll discover everything on the way to Yuba, exactly what Baroque Works has done to this country! Exactly what the Alabastan people have gone through! We can stop this senseless violence! I won't let Baroque Works destroy my country!"

Everyone was quiet for a moment, staring at the shaking princess. They had only known the young woman for a few weeks, but they could clearly see how much she loved her country. "I'll make a special desert-crossing lunch for you Vivi-chan!" Sanji cried, breaking the heavy tension. "Whoa! That sounds fun!" Chopper's eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Okay Vivi! I understand!" Luffy suddenly cried, holding a fist up. "Let's go! Upa!"

"Yuba."

"Yuba!"

"Baka." Kya chuckled lightly at the dimwitted captain. "Calm down before you hurt yourself." He was jumping around and trying to put his coat on at the same time. She grabbed him by the shoulders, steading him so he wouldn't trip and die. "But I'm so exciteeeeddddd!" He whined, slugging his shoulders in defeat. "At least put your clothes on before you fight." She pulled his head through the coat, revealing his overly happy face. "I still don't understand why I need to wear these though." He pulled at the dark fabric, annoyed. "You either wear it, or get fried." She put simply, and he nodded in understanding.

"We're coming up to the shore."

"I've prepared lunches for my three favorite leading ladies!~" Sanji twirled out of the kitchen, three boxes in his hands. "The rest of yours are in the kitchen." He sneered at Zoro, who huffed out in disapproval.

The crew gathered their materials as they landed. The air was empty; no clattering of a busy port, no human voices, no screaming of 'Pirates!'. "I don't really like this place…." Chopper panted, leaning up against Kya's leg. She chuckled lightly, patting his hat. "We'll be through the desert soon enough." His tongue rolled out of his mouth. "Too hoottt."

"We made it! Yuba!" Luffy was standing out in front of the ruins, his hand shielding the sun from his eyes. "Wait a minute….There's nothing here…Let's look for the leader! Where is he?!" He placed his hands on his hips, turning back to everyone unloading the supplies. "No, Luffy-san, this isn't Yuba yet. We still have to walk northwest through the desert for half a day." Vivi informed him. "Half a day?!" Usopp shouted as she pulled her map. Kya set Chopper down on the soft sand, noticing that, as always, the first mate was wondering off in the wrong direction.

She appeared beside him, grabbing his cheek roughly. "Zoro, don't go wandering off on your own." She chastised, pulling him back over towards the Merry. "I wasn't. I was just looking at the sand." He grumbled, slapping her arm away as they rejoined the rest. "I'm not a kid." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't be stupid." She poked his arm. "Even kids can get around better than you."

"Whoa, what the hell is that?!"

The two turned to Usopp, who was cautiously approaching what looked to be a seal with a turtle shell covering its upper body and head. "Kuo!" It cried, punching its arm into the air. "A seal?!" The sharpshooter patted its head lightly. "A kung-fu dugong!" Vivi shouted suddenly, a frightened look on her face. "Kung-fu?" He repeated, getting in a stance to fight the cute creature. "No Usopp-san! Get away from it!" Her warning came too late as the creature mercilessly beat the hell out of the long nosed man. "They're strong." She squeaked, covering her mouth with her hands. "You lost." Zoro and Kya deadpanned, shaking their heads at the young man.

"We have a winner over here…" Nami pointed over at Luffy, who was cheering over the defeat of the dugong. "Don't beat them either!" Vivi screamed as the creature hopped up on its tail and bowed to the captain. "It's kung-fu dugong law that the loser becomes the winner's student!" She informed them, a little too late. "They're martial artists then." Zoro concluded as the dugong 'kuo'd to Luffy. Within the blink of an eye, Luffy had defeated at least twenty of them, and was attempting to teach them a stance. "No, the stance goes like this!" He corrected them, although he had no idea what he was doing. "How did you get so many?!" The blue haired girl was livid now, pulling him by his cheek. "We need to go now." She seethed, trying to ignore the crowd of dugong's following her.

"There's no way we can go into the town like this." Kya muttered, throwing her pack over her shoulder. "What should we do? They're students of Luffy now." Sanji breathed out a puff of smoke as Luffy attempted to play with his new friends, only to be pulled away by Vivi. "Chopper." The assassin looked over to the reindeer. "You can understand what they're saying right? Try to figure out what they want in exchange for leaving us alone." She placed one hand on her hip as he nodded and slugged over to the dugongs. "Ah Kya-chwan~! You're so smart!" The chef cooed, only to get a nasty scoff from Zoro. "Did you say something to me marimo?!" Sanji's eyes were on fire as he growled at the swordsman. "Shut up ero cook."

After a few moments Chopper returned with a distressed look on his face. "They keep saying 'We'll go with you!'. There's only one thing I can do…." He grabbed a few backs, emptying the food supply from them. The dugongs suddenly turned their attention to the pile of meat laying before them. "Kuo!" They all cried, scurrying over. "I guess that works." She muttered, walking forward with the others, leaving the upset kung-fu masters behind them.

"Now let's go to Yuba!" Luffy laughed, marching forward next to Nami. "You wasted almost all of our food." Sanji grumbled from beside the pink haired girl. "If Chopper hadn't talked them out of it, we'd be in serious shit." She informed him as the reindeer sighed. "I had to do it to keep them away." He muttered as Luffy let out a sigh. "Why couldn't we take them along?" He whined, already pissing off the hot tempered red head. "We can't get into any towns with that many trailing along you idiot!" She clenched her fists at him. "The dugongs in this country are pretty weird, Vivi-chan. Do they live in the river?" Sanji asked, hoisting his bag up higher on his back.

"No, the ocean." She answered, and Kya brought her head up to look at the princess. The younger girl stared sadly at the ruins that lined the high dunes around them; their beauty had left with the people. "Ever since ancient times, the Sandora River has sustained this country. But lately, the river has lost the force it once had and now it's being pushed back to the sea by the downstream." She explained lightly. "Then the water those dugongs live in is…" Sanji trailed off, holding his cigarette between his fingers. "Salt water. It can't be used on fields or to drink."

"Is that why this village is so tried up?" Zoro asked suddenly, finally noting the scenery around him. "No. they collected water on the rare occasions when it rained and the town survived off of that most of the time. Up until now, this town was a lively place, full of green plants. However, in the past three years, not a single drop of rain has fallen on the country." Everyone seemed to be in disbelief, aside from Luffy and Chopper at the moment. Luffy was holding a cracked skull in his hands, while Chopper just stared at it, frightened. "Baka, let's go." Kya muttered, hitting her captain on the top of his head. "Is that port town going to be okay?" The little doctor asked worriedly. "Nanohana gets its water supply from the oasis Katorea, so they're safe." Vivi reassured him. "Even in Alabasta, no rainfall has never been something to worry about for thousands of years, but there was always one place that got more rain than everywhere else; the capital, Alubarna, the city built around the king's palace. The people called it the 'King's Miracle'. At least, up until that day…"

Kya listened to Vivi's story intently; a group of men had nearly killed civilians as they carried a heavy cart through town. As they crashed, the contents on said cart spilt everywhere, revealing a substance called Dance Powder. "Dance Powder…." She repeated to herself; the name sounded slightly familiar, but she just couldn't recall where she heard it from. "They were carrying Dance Powder…?" Nami suddenly asked and Vivi nodded. "Hey, you know what that is?" Luffy moved closer to her, nearly throwing himself in her face with curiosity. "It's also known as 'powder that calls rain'." She told him. "Powder that calls rain?"

"It was created by some country with no rain, long ago."

"Right, right."

"The powder emits a mist like smoke that rises up into the air. It speeds up the creation of ice particles in subfreezing temperature clouds to cause rainfall." She noted the incoherent expressions on a majority of the members. "Basically, it's a powder that makes artificial rain." She sighed lightly. "Ahaa, so it's a mystery powder." Luffy concluded, putting his fist in his palm. "It makes rain." Zoro grunted from his side, making the others shake their heads in disdain. "But that would make it perfect for this place right?" Usopp piped up from behind the group as Kya stopped Chopper from falling over with her hand. "Careful." She patted his back lightly and he gave her a lopsided smile.

"Originally, yes. The people who created it called it Dance Powder because it made them dance with joy but, there was a large pitfall to all of this." Nami held up her hand and pointed at the sky. "It caused droughts in countries to downwind! Do you understand? Artificial rain is the process of nurturing clouds that aren't ready to rain yet. It sucks the water out of the clouds…." She explained more, and a few of them understood. "I see! It steals rain from clouds that would mature over neighboring countries!" Usopp exclaimed, a serious look framing his face. "Yes, and it started a huge war, the loss of life was profound. Since then, the World Government has outlawed the manufacturing and possession of dance powder worldwide."

"A powder that brings happiness and misery at the same time…"Kya said softly as Vivi bent down to the skull in the golden sand. "That large shipment of Dance Powder appeared in Nanohana. Soon afterward, an abnormal weather pattern appeared, and no rain fell anywhere except where the king was!" The blue haired girl pushed her hood back and closed her eyes. "It's normal to distrust the king. They must have thought he was using the powder to steal all the rain." Zoro spoke, his tone still emotionless as usually. "Dang Vivi your dad is evil!" Luffy shouted, earning him a kick in the head from Sanji. "He was framed you idiot! Vivi-chan's father would never do such a thing!"

"Now I realize Crocodile's terrible plan was already in effect. My father was suddenly surrounded by a scandal he had nothing to do with. Somehow, a large volume of Dance Powder had been brought into the palace under his nose." The princess picked the skull up with her nimble fingers, pressing it to her forehead lightly. "It was all a trap set up by Crocodile! A rebellion rose just as he had planned! Towns dried up, people starved, and an army of rebels started a bloody war with an innocent country. The kingdom's peace…the royal family…the rain…the towns…and even people's lives were stolen. And it was done by one man…Crocodile!" She took in a shaky breath as she put the skull down. "What right does he have to do those things?!" She placed her head in her hands as she cried, not noticing Sanji, Usopp and Luffy walk away. "I will never, ever, let him get away with this!"

Her cries were followed by the collapse of a building; the three boys were now walking back with unamused expressions. "Stupid kids." Zoro muttered and Kya just shook her head. The pink haired girl watched as the ruins crumbled to the ground, her heart aching silently for the princess. She couldn't even imagine the burden of being a part of the royal family, especially during times of chaos. Although she seemed to be faltering, Vivi had been pulling at least three times her own weight in the near fall of her country, and for that Kya could admit she was slightly jealous of the bravery the younger woman expressed.

"Hey, what were you doing?!" Nami yelled at the captain, who let out an unattractive huff. "Let's move forward already." He declared, moving his way through the group. "I'm anxious now." He rolled his sleeves up, grabbing a stick up off the ground. "So eager." The assassin chuckled lightly to herself, striding up towards the middle of the group. "I don't know how long I can go on." Chopper panted, his hooves dragging in the sand. "Maybe we should stop and rest for a bit." Vivi said lightly, looking at the doctor worriedly. "No. We need to move forward." Luffy slammed his feet into the sand as he walked off into the dunes, not looking back at the others.

"Ah, maybe he can use this."

Sanji was holding a small wooden sled that was slightly rotting away. "There's even a long handle." He set it down in front of the reindeer, who happily climbed in. "I thought I was going to have a heat stroke." He panted, laying on his back. "I'll pull it." Kya smiled lightly at the sight, grabbing the reigns from the cook. "Of course my dear Kya-chwan!~" He twirled around until Zoro made his way over. "I've got it." He snatched the thin ropes from her hands, earning a glare from the other two. "Don't take things from Kya-chwan!" Sanji was quick to get in the swordsman's face. "I just did, ero cook!" Kya sighed, placing her hand on each one of their faces and pushing them away from each other. "Can we please get through this trip without killing each other?"

* * *

"Aaaaah."

Luffy drug his way through the dunes up in the front of the group, complaining about the heat every three seconds. "Weren't you just excited to be marching across the desert a few minutes ago?" Kya chuckled, earning a sigh from the navigator next to her. "Would you stop going 'aaaahhh' already Luffy? You're just wasting energy." She scolded, only to be ignored again. "Aaah…I'm burning….I can't even sweat."

"I can't stand the heat, but I'm fine in the cold…." Chopper muttered from the very back, Zoro still pulling his wooden sled. "It's cause you're all fluffy. Why don't you take that costume off?" Usopp gasped, pulling himself along with a large stick like his captain.

"Don't mess with a reindeer punk!"

When Kya turned around, she saw Chopper had transformed into his human form, and was currently trying to attack the sharpshooter. "Gyaaaaa! A monster!" Zoro tugged on the rope, glowering at the two men behind him. "Don't get huge like that Chopper or I won't pull you!" He shouted, gaining the reindeer's attention. "Sorry." He said quietly before returning to his normal size, and collapsing back onto the sled. "Bakas." She shook her head at them, facing forward once more. "You don't seem to mind the heat, Vivi-chan." Sanji commented, a cigarette hanging from his dry mouth. "I grew up here, so I'm fine, more or less." The princess smiled before turning back to the assassin. "Ah, Kya-san. You don't seem bothered by it either." She noted, finding little to no sweat on the older woman's forehead. "My home was hot all the time, so I'm used to it. Although, it was always humid and raining so the dryness is a little annoying." She swatted in the air, a frown adorning her lips. "You're from the Grand Line right? Is your home near here?" The blue haired girl wandered back a little to walk next to her. "I'm not really sure. The island I lived on was little, and it had a small magnetic field. You can only get there with an Eternal Pose." Kya pulled said object out from her bag. "It has no name on it…." She nodded lightly, closing her eyes. "Aye. It's always just been called 'Unknown' or 'Unnamed'."

"Why are there so many damn hills? It's like we're climbing mountains." Luffy groaned, his voice cracking from the dryness. "This is an ancient desert, the largest dunes are over 300 meters tall." Vivi informed him, and Kya sighed in relief. She hadn't expected to be questioned about her home like that, especially by Vivi. "T-Three hundred meters? No wonder they seem like mountains." Usopp muttered, dragging his feet with every step. "Water…" Luffy opened his barrel, putting the straw in his mouth. "Just enough to fill your mouth." Nami warned him, and he agreed. That is, until he filled his cheeks three times their size with water.

"That's too much!"

"Give it to me! That was your 13th swallow!"

"No, wait! You just drank it's my turn next!"

"What the hell are you guys doing you made me spit it out?!"

Kya stopped, watching the somewhat comical scene of Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Luffy fighting over the already wasted water. "Who's idea was it to let him carry the water in the first place?" She sighed as Zoro stopped next to her. "You're all just a bunch of dumbasses." He said lowly, closing his eyes. "Someone isn't in a good mood today." She snickered as he glared at her. "I'll just deal with you later."

Vivi finally managed to unhinge the idiots from each other and get everyone back on their way. "Hey Sanji, let's eat lunch. 'Pirate Lunchbox' time." Luffy let his tongue loll out of his mouth as he spoke about food. "Nope. Not till Vivi-chan says we can eat." The cook said quickly, looking at the young princess. "Vivi! Let's eat I'm starving!" The captain whined loudly. "But we're not even a quarter of the way to Yuba yet, Luffy-san." She answered sheepishly. "And we already lost half of our food because of you." Kya informed him as she walked next to Chopper; although she was quickly ignored. "Jeez you're dumb. Haven't you ever heard of this proverb: 'eat when thou art hungry'." He informed them, a determined look on his face. "You just made that up."

"I understand. Why don't we take a break when we reach the next rock outcropping?"

"Okay! Next rock…roooock?!" There was nothing but dunes for the next few miles, and Luffy simply fell to his knees. "I'll never survive this." He cried loudly, waving his head in a melodramatic fashion. "We don't have time for this Luffy." Zoro grumbled, kicking some sand up at his captain. "I can't carry my bags anymore. They're too heavy….." Luffy ignored him, dropping his large pack to the ground. "How about we play janken? Loser has to carry the all the bags!" Usopp suddenly suggested, earning a few glares and one bright smile. "What a great idea!"

Unfortunately for the happy go lucky boy, it wasn't such a great idea, seeing as he lost and had to pull the bags for the next few miles. "Heavy…Heavy…Hot…." His complains came out in loud pants that could be heard throughout the desert. "You lost at janken, so shut up and pull." Zoro told him grumpily. "Don't drop it Luffy!" Nami snickered as Usopp looked through his binoculars up front. "Alight! Rocks sighted dead ahead!" He shouted, nearly being trampled by Luffy as he ran past the crew, screaming 'Break time!' at the top of his lungs. "Damn he's fast."

"Ah, at least we're getting closer." Kya let out a breath, looking down at the panting Chopper. "Are you alright?" She asked softly, and he nodded. "Aye. We'll be out of the desert soon." He gave her a small smile as Luffy came back screaming for help. "There's a bunch of dying birds back there! Come on Chopper, heal them!" Chopper sat up quickly, a worried look spread over his face. "O-Okay! I'm coming!" Just as he began to remove himself from the sled, Vivi gasped loudly. "Birds! What Luffy-san, those birds are-" She was cut off by Luffy grabbing Chopper, and running back over to the rocks. "Luffy-san please listen to me!" She shouted, running after them.

"What has he done now…." Zoro growled lowly, dragging the empty sled behind him as they followed the others. "If he dropped our stuff, I'll ring his neck." Nami clenched her fists, a vein popping on the side of her head. "Awh, Nami-swan is cute when she's angry!~" Sanji cooed, hearts exploding in his eyes as he moved next to her. "Shut up!"

"All our stuff is gone!"

"Oh no…" Kya groaned, rubbing her fingers in between her brows. They weren't anywhere close to being done with this 'adventure' and the migraines were already beginning. "There were these dying birds here I swear!" Luffy was running around frantically, trying to figure where these 'birds' had disappeared too. "Warusagi are called 'thieves of the desert'. They fool travelers and steal their luggage. I should have told you…." Vivi murmured, falling to her knees in the soft sand. "They were playing injured?! They're sagi!" Usopp cried, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Yes, they're sagi."

Sanji suddenly strode over to the captain, grabbing him by his coat. "That was luggage for three days Luffy! How could you let a bunch of birds steal it!? And that was all our luggage! Without food or water, how are we going to-" He was cut off by the panicking, now angry, Luffy. "But I was tricked! I can't help it!" He tried to explain, but the cook would not have it. "You're dumber than a bird!"

"Cut it out!" Zoro finally shouted, sitting down against a rock next to Usopp, who was laying in the shade. "Let's take a rest, you're getting angry because of the heat. Chill out for a minute?" He removed his head band and covering. Kya raised an eyebrow at how leveled the usually angry swordsman was acting, but was soon busied by Sanji and Luffy's fist fight. "Bakas." She growled, kicking them both in the head. "We're going to get to Yuba at night right?"

"Yes. If it's an oasis, then we'll just have patience. We're not gonna die!" Vivi tried calming everyone down. "But he started it!" Luffy whined, rubbing the bump on his head. "I don't care who started it, I'm ending it. Now." Kya glared at the two of them intently, earning murmurs from the captain and swoons from the chef. "Just forget about this. Thinking about this makes my throat dry up. We'll rest ten minutes and then leave." Zoro informed everyone before Luffy suddenly let out a cry. "There they are!" He shouted, taking off after what seemed to be a large group of herons. "Give us back our stuff!"

"Don't follow them Luffy! How will you get back?!"

"Yeah, that would be even worse! Come back Luffy!"

"That moron…." Sanji grumbled, leaning back up against the rocks. "Maybe he'll get our stuff back…" Kya commented, slightly hopeful in the situation. "Are you on drugs? He'll just make a bigger mess than he already has." Usopp screamed at her, but she only rolled her eyes. "No need to be dramatic. I was just thinking out loud."

Within the next few minutes, they spotted Luffy running back towards them, a large mass chasing him. The creature was larger than a three story building, almost a block long, and was covered in purple scales. Its green tongue licked its sharp teeth as he followed Luffy hungrily. "A giant Sandora lizard!" Vivi screamed, her face paling at the sight. "I suppose we should save that camel running beside him…" Kya said as she walked forward, her arms crossing over her chest as Sanji and Zoro walked up next to her. "What star was I born under that gives me all this damn trouble?" The green haired man groaned as the four of them began their battle.

"Gomu Gomu…"

"Tatsu…."

"Epaule…"

"Rankyaku…"

All four pirates jumped into position; Sanji's foot collided with the lizards head while Luffy's leg hit the side of it. Zoro had all three of his swords out, twisting his body to send the strikes flying, and Kya flipped forwards, placing her hands firmly in the sand.

"Whip!"

"Maki!"

"Shoot!"

"Sen!"

Kya frowned, look down at her sandy hands. "Now I'm all dirty…." She moaned, catching sight of the swordsman in her peripheral. "Not anymore!" She wiped her pale hands off on his coat, earning a growl in return. "Don't be so annoying." He grumbled, pulling her hair. "Don't be so bossy." Their conversation came to an abrupt end when the camel Luffy had been running with walked in between them. "What the hell…." The furry creature turned to her, wriggly its eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Disgusting."

The three men drug the dead lizard back over to the group, chopping it into edible pieces for everyone. She stood on the rocks near the edge of the rock enclosure, looking out onto the golden sea. "I managed to get this for you…." Luffy came over to her, holding a green apple in his hands. "Ah, thanks." She smiled, grabbing it from him. "Kya, what are you doing over here though?" He blinked innocently as she bit into the fruit. "Oh, it's nothing. I just suddenly got a bad feeling."

"Oi, Luffy. What's with the camel?" Zoro called from his seat on a rock, biting off a piece of his meat. "Dunno…when I was chasing the birds, he came running up. Then I saw the lizard chasing him, so I started running too." Luffy answered casually, as if things like this happen every day. "It doesn't look wild. It's got a saddle and everything." She pointed out, hopping down from the jagged stone. "We can ride it! That'll be nice!" He laughed loudly, holding his gut. "Yeah, good thing. I bet two people could ride on it." Sanji pulled another cigarette out and lit it. "You really do need camels in the desert."

"Okay! I'll go on fir-" Luffy suddenly howled in pain as he climbed onto the camel's back. The tan creature had its mouth around the boy's head, and was chomping down hard. Chopper was suddenly by its side, holding his arm out towards the other animal. "'I am just a passing camel. Thanks for rescuing me.'" He translated for the others. I'll let you ride me but, I won't let any guys ride.' That's what he says." Luffy, Sanji and Usopp were quick to pummel the perverted camel to the ground. "You stupid punk! Who do you think saved your worthless life?!" Kya couldn't help but chuckle at them as Nami strode over, threatening to hit them if they didn't stop. "I'm sorry my bandits are so mean to you." She cooed, rubbing its chin lightly. "What a good boy! What should I call you?"

"Idiot."

"Moron."

"Dumbass."

"Okay. How about Eyelashes?" She ignored the boys, climbing up into the saddle. "That's worse than the others." Zoro deadpanned, sighing lowly. "Get on Vivi!" The navigator demanded, pulling her hood back on as Usopp and Luffy murmured names to the camel. "No, I'm fine. I can still walk." The princess laughed awkwardly, but Nami simply pulled her into the seat behind her. "It's okay. Now we can get to Yuba a little faster." She smiled lightly before turning to the assassin. "I don't think we have any room for you." She sneered, her lips forming into a thin line. "That's fine. I'd rather not ride with a perverted camel and a snobby bitch." Kya answered, fixing her garments before they headed off. "Fine then. Let's go Eyelashes!" With a snap of the reigns, the two girls and the camel took off. "Wait a minute!"

"What a snob…" Kya groaned, attempting to begin their journey. "It's a tsunami!" Luffy's frantic screams gained everyone's attention. "What is he doing now!?" She shouted, watching as he flung his arms around in fear. "Do you think it could've been that thing….?" Usopp asked in a small voice. "What thing…?" Luffy began falling, waving his arms around as he screamed for someone to save him from 'drowning'. "When we stopped for the lizard meat, he also ate a cactus over there." The sharpshooter informed them all, making Kya deadpan. "Who eats random plants in foreign places…"She sighed as Chopper bent over a small, round cactus. "A cactus like this one?"

"Yeah, one of those round ones."

"Oh no! That's a mescal cactus! It causes hallucinations!" The doctor cried, searching through his small blue pack for something. "Get ready everyone! I'm gonna kick your asses! Gomu Gomuuuuuu-" The rubber boy suddenly fell down to the ground, a snot bubble forming from his nose. "Tranquilizer!" Chopper held the syringe up in relief. "Right! Good job Chopper!" Sanji gave him a thumbs up. "Look how far that stupid camel is!" Usopp pointed at the small figures off in the distance. "Hurry up! We gotta follow it!" Zoro shouted, attempting to run after them. "We can't leave Luffy here!" She yelled, pulling at said boy's arm. "Dammit, Luffy! What the hell is your problem?!" He grabbed the arm she was holding, dragging the captain behind him. "That's not the easiest way to pull him….."

* * *

They walked for what seemed like forever; Kya leading the way, Zoro dragging Luffy and arguing with Sanji, and Usopp and Chopper staggering in the back. "They're waiting for us, no more than two miles." She told them, squinting her eyes to make out the silhouette. "They could've just waited for us. It wouldn't have made a difference." Zoro grumbled, pulling Luffy harder as he got snagged on a rock. "I understand why. I'd rather listen to Nami talk than all our guys' bitching and moaning." She scoffed, watching as the sun began to sit low in the sky. "I just don't understand how you can stand this heat." Usopp panted, pulling himself along with the stick. "It's not that hot."

"Ah! What a great nap!"

The five others froze, peering at Luffy as he stretched and yawned. "You…dumbass….." Sanji seethed, his cigarette falling from his mouth. "Ah? Where are we? Yuba?" He raised an eyebrow as the four men gathered around him. "No. Because of you, we are not in Yuba yet." Kya answered, rubbing her temples as she walked forward, ignoring the screams of her captain as he was beaten by his own crew.

Eventually they all met up again, just as the sun was setting. Her body was shaking violently as they climbed yet another dune. "Not so easy is it now?" Zoro cracked an arrogant smirk, the poor sharpshooter dangling from his shoulder. "If it wasn't so cold, I would kill you." She muttered as the winds began to pick up. "The temperature's the exact opposite from the daytime." Sanji stated the obvious, pulling his coat closer. "The desert gets below freezing at night." Vivi explained as Kya let out a small sneeze. "It's too cold."

"There! Can you see the light?!"

Looking up from the top of the dune, the group could make out a small city just a few miles off in the distance. "Did we make it to Yuba?!" Sanji asked excitedly as the sand began to sweep around their faces. "I can't tell! There's so much sand blowing around!" Luffy groaned, attempting to swat away the little pieces falling into his eyes. The ground below them began to shift violently, and everyone nearly lost their footing. "Why is the earth rumbling?!" Chopper shouted as the wind started to knock him backwards. They pulled their hoods around their faces, protecting them from the harsh, cyclone like winds. "We must be in a sand storm or something." Kya tried to say, but almost chocked on the sand blowing into her mouth.

"There's something wrong with the town!"

* * *

**I'm a terrible author. D: it's been like over two months. I'm so sorry. I just got caught up in life and then I really dislike this part so it's hard for me to write. I'm sorry. T-T I promise a new chapter sometime next week! Please forgive me!**


	28. It's Time

**Chapter 26**

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"**Hope truly is the cockroach of human emotions. No matter how it's smacked and smashed and stomped and crushed, it never really dies. That might sound repulsive, but it's actually quite beautiful."-The Garbage Men, Travis Smith**

* * *

"Yuba's being attacked by a sand storm!"

The Straw Hats watched helplessly as a tornado of sand swept through the small, broken town in front of them. "No one can live in these conditions." Nami grimaced, shielding the sand from her face with her sleeve. "It looks like this isn't the first one that has gone through today." Chopper said quietly, clinging onto Kya's leg. "There's no oasis here." She sighed as Vivi took off down the dune into the sandy ruins. "Vivi!"

"Impossible…." She whispered, staring at the buildings, halfway covered in sand. The wind had died down some, but was still fairly violent, sending debris over the buried roads. "Damn, this place isn't any different from Erumalu." Zoro noted nonchalantly, fixing Usopp on his shoulder as they walked up behind the princess. "Where's the water?!" Luffy practically screamed, scanning the area for any sign of the substance. "Wasn't this supposed to be an Oasis Vivi-chan?" Sanji scoffed at the sight, thrusting his hands into his pockets. "The sand has raised the ground level! The oasis is being swallowed up!" She was near tears until a new voice spoke among them.

"Travelers, eh? You must be tired from your trip through the desert. I'm afraid the town's a little dried up…." A man was digging up the sand a few feet away from the pirates, his frail arms shaking with every shovelful. "But you can still rest here. We have plenty of inns, that's what we're known for." He turned to them, a small smile spread under his white moustache. His wrinkles moved as his eyes scanned over the new group of people, stopping on Vivi as she hid her face from view. "Excuse me, we heard there was a rebellion based here…" Nami asked casually from atop Eyelashes, and the man glared dreadfully at her. "What do you want with the rebellion?!" Suddenly, barrels and pails were flung at them, nearly hitting them in the head. "Don't tell me you want to join those filthy rebels!" He screamed, tossing even more, now full of sand. "What the hell is your problem?!" Kya shouted, ducking before one decapitated her.

The old man calmed down, turned his back, and resumed his shoveling duties. "Those fools are not here anymore." He seethed, tossing the golden grains behind him. Everyone's jaw dropped, their angry boiling inside them at the news. "Whaaaaat?!" The old man ignored their surprise, continuing his digging. "That storm you saw wasn't the first attack on the town. The drought has been trying us up for the past three years. The sandstorms have started coming more and more frequently! The sand has been eating away the oasis, and now it is as you see today." He said solemnly, never once looking back at them. "Three years is a long time to be buried under sand." Kya whispered, a chill running up her spine. "Without circulation of goods, the rebellion cannot continue their war of endurance. Hey have moved their base of operations to Katorea." Vivi let out a loud gasp at the information. "Where's that Vivi? Is it close?" Luffy asked her dumbly. "It's the oasis next to Nanohana." She explained quietly. "Nanohana!?"

"Hey! What did we come here for then!?"

Kya watched the old man perk up and look back at them, a hopeful gleam in his eye. "Vivi…? Did you just say Vivi…?" He whispered, dropping his shovel and walking up the sandy hill. "Hey mister! Vivi's not a princess okay!?" Luffy tried to say quickly, but was only hit in the head with Usopp by Zoro. "Don't tell him!" The man ignored the commotion and quickly climbing to the top. "Are you Vivi-chan..? Are you really…?!" The old man grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders; Kya was about to intervene until she saw the tears pouring out of the man's dark eyes. "I'm so glad you're alive! It's me…! Don't you remember?!" He shouted, sniffling heavily. When she didn't answer, he let out a grim laugh. "I guess not. I've lost some weight."

"Toto-san…?" The blue haired girl's voice wavered as she said those words, and her body began to quiver when he smiled. "That's right." He smiled through his tears and her hand shot up to her mouth. "Toto-san?" Luffy repeated loudly, earning a hit in the shoulder from the assassin. "Listen to me Vivi-chan! I believe in the king! He would never betray our country! Isn't that right?!" He suddenly fell to his knees in front of her. "The rebellion is absurd! Please! I beg of you, stop these fools! You're the only one who can do it!"

It was quiet, aside from Toto's sobbing and the wind, for a long moment until he spoke again. "It's only been three years. Who cares if it hasn't rained!? I believe in the king! A majority of the people still do. We've stopped them over and over and over again but you can't tell them anything…the rebellion will not be stopped. Their power will soon take over ours! They plan to end this with the next attack! They've caught up to us! They're prepared to die! Please, Vivi-chan! Stop those fools before it's too late!" Vivi's body shook as she looked at the crying old man. Her hand shot up, pulling her hood down and she grabbed a cloth from inside her coat. "Toto-san…" She said lightly, holding the white fabric in front of his face. "Vivi-chan…." He murmured, the tears finally stopping. "We can stop the rebellion!" She said with a small laugh, though surprisingly Luffy didn't say anything afterwards. "Yes….Thank you!" Kya closed her eyes after he took the item from the princess. "Thank you. Thank you all so much. I trust you have been taking care of the princess. There's a small inn right here, the door is not blocked and you will be able to get in. Although, there is another man in there; he seems like a nice fellow so I don't think you kids will have any problems with him." He blew his nose loudly.

"Ah, come on." Luffy declared, marching over to the pale white building. "Thank you, Toto-san!" Vivi smiled brightly as she followed the captain. "It's no problem at all! Make yourselves at home!" Kya opened her eyes when she felt something holding her leg tightly. "My legs are so tired. I can't feel them." Chopper muttered, making her laugh. "It's your first adventure, I'm surprised you're not dead yet." She said, scooping him up in her arms as everyone else went inside the building. "Dead?!" He repeated in a shriek and she nodded. "Aye. Usually by now we should have had at least four near death experiences."

As they walked into the seemingly abandoned building, there was no noise coming from any direction. "This is strange, usually someone would be yelling." She set the reindeer on the floor gently, and he stuck his nose in the air. "They're down this way; I can smell them and another person." He led her to the opening of a hallway on the far side of the room, where they saw the crew standing awkwardly. Nami was the first to hear them, she looked over at Kya with a angered look. "Kya….is there something you want to tell us?" She placed her hands on her hips as the others turned to face her also. "Tell you?" She repeated, joining them quickly, her heart stopping at the sight in front of her.

"Hello, Kya-chan."

Her fists clenched tightly; the room suddenly became tense for everyone. The man standing in front of her was taller than Zoro, his long pink hair was placed in a high pony tail, revealing the burn marks across the right side of his face. His golden, hawk-like eyes gazed into her crystal blue ones, and she swallowed deeply. "What are you doing here?" She managed to choke out as he removed the white robes from his muscular body. "Mah, mah. That's no way to treat your brother is it?" He fixed his grey t-shirt that stopped just below the waistline of his black jeans. "Since when did you have a brother?" Usopp asked dumbly, scratching his long nose. "I'll ask you one more time." She seethed, ignoring the sharpshooter. "What are you doing here?"

"Everyone should go get their beds ready." Luffy declared suddenly, opening the door to the room on his left. "I'm going to go talk to that old man." He gave the newcomer one last look over before exiting the hallway. Chopper tugged at her robe lightly, giving her a worried look before Zoro pulled him into the next room. She noticed that the swordsman didn't shut the door all the way; his robes could be seen through the crack as he leaned against the wall next to it.

"Ryuko-" He cut her off quickly. "I heard you were in the area, thought I'd stop by and give my little sister a nice hello." He smiled, leaning against the wall on his shoulder. "What the hell is your problem?! You were supposed to be dead!" She tried not to be loud but the anger swelling up inside her needed to get out. "I thought you've been dead for the past nine years; where have you been?" Her lip quivered slightly, but she fought back the tears. "You've been hard to find." He admitted sheepishly, giving her a small smile. "Bullshit." She brushed past him, walking into the crowded bedroom.

"We didn't know you had a brother!" Chopper said in astonishment, jumping down from the top bunk of one of the beds. "You also didn't tell us Mihawk was your uncle." Nami said suspiciously, crossing her arms over her chest. The assassin sighed, removing the robes from her body and putting them on a bed on the other side of the room. "It doesn't concern any of you." She said tiredly, sitting down on the mattress. "Well how-" Zoro cut the navigator off. "Nami. Drop it." He said lowly, removing himself from the wall as Ryuko walked in. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your peace. I hate to be such a bother, but do you mind if I travel with you for a while? I'm trying to get to Katorea to meet a friend." He said politely, placing his hands in his pockets. "We don't mind at all!" The orange haired girl shot a look at Kya before turning to Vivi. "Isn't that right Vivi?" The princess jumped a little in surprise. "A-Ah, we should really be asking Kya-san that….."

"Good work today guys!" Usopp suddenly shouted, clapping his hands to break the awkwardness. "Let's take a little rest and replenish our strength for tomorrow! Goodnight!" He quickly clambered into his bed, pulling the covers over his face. "You were sleeping the whole time!" Zoro shouted, tossing a pillow at his head. "Of course I was, you jerk! I was exhausted dammit! I'm not a monster like you guys!" The sharpshooter shouted back, tossing the pillow back and hitting him in the face. Kya smiled lightly as they got into a pillow fight with Chopper, then with Sanji who was laying in Vivi's bed, who ultimately got caught in the cross fire. "Ah, I wouldn't have thought you'd be on a pirate crew." Ryuko murmured, standing next to her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly. "Why are you here? Are you working for them too?" She asked, looking him in his golden eyes. "I don't know who you're talking about exactly. But like I said, I caught wind of you here, so I came to find you." He looked at her sincerely, and she sighed. "I'm exhausted, we'll talk tomorrow." He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was expecting a big tear-jerking scene, you know?" He laughed lightly but stopped when he saw the pained look on her face. "But I guess you're not the same kid you used to be, huh?" He sighed, leaving her to her thoughts to go talk to Nami and Vivi.

"Jeesh, surrounded by idiots." Zoro rubbed his face as he took the spot where Ryuko was standing. "How do you feel about this princess?" He looked down at Kya, who had her face shoved into her knees. "I don't know." She groaned loudly. "He's supposed to be dead and now suddenly, when they find me again, he shows up claiming I was 'hard to track down'. Of course he's working with them, but I just…..I don't want him to be." She lifted her head up to look at him, a frown on her lips. "Ah, that's to be expected." He laid down on her bed, putting his feet behind her body and his arms under his head. "He's got those eyes, though. I can't even look at him without wanting to slice him up." He grumbled, closing his eyes. "I'm not going to try and talk to you because you'll fall asleep." She sighed and he snorted. "I'm not that bad." She rolled her eyes, turning her head to look at him. "Zoro." She said softly, and he opened an eye lazily. "I'm worried." She admitted, sitting cross legged now. "Worried about what exactly?" He questioned, a strange tone in his voice. "Everything." He scoffed at her answer, closing his eye again. "Baka, I won't let anything happened." She smiled lightly as he began to snore, shaking her head. "You're so stupid." She whispered, climbing to the top bunk and curling under the blankets where she quickly fell asleep also.

* * *

Everyone awoke early the next morning and headed outside to meet Toto. "Oh, I see you've become friendly with the young man from yesterday." He smiled at Ryuko, who stood close to Kya. "Ah, you could say that." He replied, giving him a warm smile. "I'm so happy you've met new friends. But Vivi-chan, I am sorry for acting so disgracefully." Toto bowed his head low to the blue haired girl, who waved her hands awkwardly. "No, don't worry. We're going now Toto-san." She said quietly and he nodded, reaching into his robes for something. "Yes, and Luffy-kun, please take this." He handed the captain a small barrel of water. "Wow! Water!" He shouted, his tongue lolling from his mouth. "Water?! You got some!?" Usopp was quick to be next to the boy, just in case any extra drops fell. "Right after you fell asleep digging last night, we made it to the water level. I managed to squeeze out the water and distill it." Toto explained lightly. "Wow, sounds difficult! Thanks, I'll drink it carefully!" Luffy declared, although everyone knew that was a lie. "Genuine Yuba water…..I'm sorry that's all I can give you."

After a heartfelt goodbye, the pirates began their trek through the desert again. "You seem to make friends wherever you go." Ryuko laughed casually, walking beside Nami, who was riding Eyelashes. "And trouble." She muttered, glaring off into the distance. "By the way." She looked back at Kya. "I'm surprised you never mentioned anything about your brother before." She tried bringing up the past again, but Kya wouldn't have it. "Just drop it already, would you? It's none of your business who my family is." She growled, turning back to Luffy. "You haven't dru-Luffy?" She stopped, looking at the Straw Hat boy, who was sitting up against a lonely and dead tree, his hands behind his head. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Nami shouted angrily, but was ignored as always. "What's wrong Luffy-san?" Vivi asked softly, and the boy let out a loud huff. "I quit."

"You 'quit'?" Kya repeated as they gathered around the stubborn boy. "What do you mean Luffy-san?" Vivi gasped, grabbing the front of her robe tightly. "We don't have time for you stupid games Luffy! Now get up!" Sanji shouted, attempting to kick the boy in the head had it not been for the assassin holding him back. "We're going back." Luffy declared lazily, staring up at the sun. "Yeah, we're using the road we took yesterday to go to Katorea to stop the rebellion." Sanji tried to explain to him. "If one million citizens of this country clash it'll be all over! This is for Vivi-chan! C'mon, let's go!" Still, the boy pursed his lips. "Booooring."

"What did you say!?"

Kya grabbed the fuming cook's arm, closing her eyes. "Sanji, just listen to what he has to say." She told him and he sighed in defeat. "Vivi." Luffy said suddenly, looking at the princess with a determined look. "What?" She bit her lip nervously, anticipating what he was going to say. "I want to beat the crap out of Crocodile!" He said loudly. "If we stop the guys who are rebelling, will we stop Crocodile? We can't do anything, even if we go to this place. We're pirates, you'd be better off without us."

"Sometimes he hits the bullseye without even thinking." Sanji gapped and Usopp nodded, sighing. "That's Luffy for you." Ryuko looked over at his sister, a confused look spreading over his pale face. "Crocodile? Isn't that one of the Shichibukai?" He asked and she nodded. "I'll explain on the way."

"You just don't want anyone to die in this war!" Luffy continued. "The people of your country, or us, or anyone! You're talking about a fight against one of the Shichibukai, in which over a million people will be in battle, and all you want is for no one to die! That's naïve." Kya was genuinely surprised by how accurate Luffy was; no matter how hard Vivi tried to protect everyone, death was inevitable in these situations. "Stop Luffy! Can't you think of Vivi's feelings-" Sanji put his arm in front of the orange haired girl. "Wait, Nami-san." She tried to argue, but Vivi began to yell at Luffy. "What's wrong with that?! What's wrong with not wanting people to die?!" Her body was shaking and her hood had flown of her head as her anger rose. "People die."

Everyone froze as her fist collided with his face. "Stop talking like that! Don't you dare say that again! That's what we're trying to stop! You can't blame the Rebels or the Army for this! Why should anyone die?! This is all Crocodile's fault!" He pushed himself back up to his feet, not bothering to wipe the blood off his mouth. "Then why are you risking your life?!" He returned a punch to her cheek, sending her to the ground.

"That's going too far Luffy!"

"Dammit Luffy!"

Kya grabbed the back of Sanji's and Usopp's robes to stop them from intervening. "Bakas; let them work it out." She scolded as the princess climbed on top of Luffy, hitting him as he spoke. "Even I can tell what this country needs the most just by looking at the situation! You think risking one life is enough?!" He shouted as she gave him one last punch to the face. "Then what am I supposed to risk?! There's nothing else I have to!" He sat up, grabbing her by the collar of her robes. "Why don't you try risking our lives too!? I thought we were friends?!" He screamed in her face and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "Look at you…" He muttered, releasing her so she could pull her hood over her face as she cried. "You're crying." Nami ran over to the younger girl, holding her close as she cried helplessly into her hands. "You're the one who wants to kill him the most!" He placed his hat back on his head, blood dripping from his nose onto the sand. "Tell me….Tell me where Crocodile is!"

"You overdid it just a little bit." Kya muttered, pulling the rubber boy to his feet. "Ah, I guess I did." He held his hand up to his nose, attempting to stop the blood flow. "But, this way we can save the country faster." She smiled, shaking her head lightly. "I suppose your right. But next time, let's not beat up a princess to prove or points, okay?" He gave her a thumbs up and a large smile. "Okay!"

"He wasn't the type of person I was expecting." Ryuko scratched his face as Luffy began arguing with Usopp over the water. "Ah, he's overly headstrong, but that's what makes him so good I guess." She answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, Kya-chan. I know you're upset with me, and I'm really, really sorry about the past few years. I should've looked harder for you, I know. But after the fire I got pretty messed up." He pointed to the scars on his face. "It took me a long time to recuperate, and by the time I got to be well, you had disappeared. I'm lucky to have even run into here; I didn't think you'd be running around Alabasta." She let out a distressed sigh as Vivi pulled herself together. "Look, Ryuko." The assassin said softly, looking her brother in the eye. "It's just hard to explain, everything that's happened over the past few years. We'll talk about this later, I promise."

"This is the oasis called Rainbase, which is where Crocodile is. It's straight north of Yuba." Vivi pointed to the spot marked 'Rainbase' on her map as everyone sat down on the hot sand around her. "It will take a whole day to walk there." Chopper, in his Walk Point form, gasped loudly. "Will there be water there?!" He nearly cried when she nodded. "Yes, it will be safe. It's a gambling town, separate from all the fighting." She explained, and Nami's eyes lit up. "Ooh, gambling?" She asked as her eyes turned to Beli. "What are you thinking?" Zoro grumbled, backing away from the parsimonious girl. "I guess there's towns like that even in Alabasta." Sanji lit his cigarette calmly as Luffy and Usopp started bickering loudly. "Gomu Gomu no way!" Luffy yelled, holding his water barrel closely. "Are they still at it?"

"All you have to do is give me one sip! He gave us that water to use!" Usopp had tears flowing from his eyes as he spoke, until he suddenly lunged at the captain. "You guys sure do argue a lot." Ryuko chuckled, holding his head in his hand. "Yeah, but we get along most days." Sanji breathed out his cigarette smoke. "Ah, by the way. You're really Kya-chan's brother?" He asked, looking at the girl on his left and back to the boy on his right. "I mean you two look alike, it's just you don't act anything like each other."

"Ah, it was way different when we were kids too." Ryuko rubbed the back of his head and chuckled to himself. "I used to get so annoyed with her talking; even our parents would get somewhat frustrated with her." Nami snorted loudly. "Ah, Kya-san, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so angry to see your brother?" Vivi asked sheepishly, folding up her map and putting it back in her robes. Kya looked at her brother, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm not angry." She said quietly, chewing the inside of her cheek. He took this as a sign to continue with an explanation. "Ah, she's just confused, and she gets frustrated when she's confused. About nine years ago, our village caught on fire and I'm guessing a majority of the people died, including our parents. I somehow managed to survive but not without these ugly scars. It's the first time we've seen each other since that day; it seems we've both changed a great deal."

Everyone, aside from Luffy and Usopp, were quiet, looking over at the assassin. "Kya-chan…" Sanji started, but she quickly stood to her feet. "We should probably get going if it will take a day to get there." She said calmly, brushing the sand off her backside as Nami went to break up the fight between the captain and sharpshooter. "So, you can really restrain yourself when you need to." She said, surprised. "Of course I can! How rude! How rude!" Luffy gaped at her, putting his hands on his hips as Usopp cried. "All right already, let's just go." Zoro grumbled, heading off in the wrong direction. "North is this way fool." Sanji called out, snickering as the others headed on forward. "Shut up." The swordsman ticked, stomping back over like a child throwing a tantrum. "It's alright; I have the directionality of a deaf bat." Ryuko laughed lightly, only to be glared at by the green haired man. "I'm getting a sense that you don't like me very much…." Zoro opened his mouth to say something, but Kya quickly cut him off. "Ryuko, I think Nami wanted to talk to you about something." She narrowed her eyes at the two boys, trying not to shiver at the fact the navigator had taken a fascination to her brother. "Aye."

"Zoro, don't start anything." She moved to walk next to him, glaring as she did so. "I'm not going to." He huffed, placing a hand lightly on his swords. "But you want to." He couldn't help but smirk at her know-it-all tone. "Of course, and so do you." His smile faded as she frowned. "I don't trust him. I get a weird feeling every time he looks at you; it's like he knows something." He admitted, and she sighed. "I know, but we have nothing to go on. It's him for sure; he even has the necklace I gave him when we were younger." She watched as her brother flirted with Nami; casting small glances back at the assassin. "How old is your brother, Kya-san?" Chopper asked, walking up beside her, Sanji on his other side. "He's five years older than me, so he's 23 now." His eyes sparkled brightly. "It must be nice to have siblings." She snorted. "You have no idea Chopper."

* * *

"I thought I told you two to stop doing that." Nami growled at Luffy and Usopp, who had been whining for the past few hours. "Shut up, you're riding on that camel!" Luffy retorted, pulling himself along with his stick. "Yeah! Let us ride too!" Usopp added, reaching out for nothing.

"Camel-woman."

"Nami-camel."

Kya chuckled as the navigator became flustered. "Shut up!" She cried, making everyone snicker, even Ryuko. "You aren't all wiped out today Chopper." Zoro noted, smiling down at the little reindeer walking in between the assassin and cook. "Nope, I'm sticking it out today." He chirped, and Sanji gave an approving laugh as he lit another cigarette. "I think the only people we need to worry about are those two up there." She pointed at the stick holders, sighing lightly. "Luffy-san." Vivi said suddenly, gaining his attention. "Thank you. I never could have made that decision without you." She admitted, bowing her head lightly. "Rewwy?" He turned back forward, his tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog. "Then feed me." He demanded, and she raised her head quickly. "What?" He pulled himself along, panting. "Once I whoop Crocodile's ass, you gotta feed me till I explode." She thought about it for a moment before letting out a small laugh. "Okay, I promise!"

"Is that all you think about is food?" Zoro muttered from the back, but received no answer. "You know how he is; his stomach is a bottomless pit." Kya sighed, looking up in the sky. "The sun's setting, it'll get cold here soon." She frowned at the thought, pulling her robes closer around her face. "Why can't we ever go somewhere pleasant for once?" Chopper let out a sigh in agreement. "Don't worry Kya-chwan!~ I'll take you anywhere you want!~Just the two of us!~" Sanji cooed, his eye turning into hearts again. "That's alright Sanji; I'm sure once this is all over we will land somewhere nice." Zoro scoffed at the idea. "Knowing our luck, it'll be some shit island full of cannibals or something." He muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. "You don't have to be such a killjoy." She punched him in the arm. "You're one to talk!"

"Don't speak to my Kya-chwan like that!"

"Did you say something shit cook?"

"That does it!"

She managed to dodge Sanji's kick and Zoro's swords as they clashed together. "I'll slice your legs off!" Zoro shouted, pushing the blonde away from him. "It'll be worth it if I can protect my sweet Kya-chwan!" The cook yelled back, stomping his cigarette butt out in the sand. "I didn't even do anything to her!" She sighed, walking away with Chopper by her side. "We should just leave them here." She mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself as the sun fell. "I agree; it would be a lot quieter." The reindeer said before letting out a short laugh. "Maybe they're just trying to hide that they really care for each other. She snickered at the thought, looking back at the two bickering men. "I will never understand a man's ego."

* * *

They marched on through the night and into the early morning when they finally reached Rainbase; a bustling and lively city in the middle of the glowing sand. "Yes! Crocodile your ass is grass!" Luffy cried out, his fists thrown up in the air. "What's with the mood swings lately?" Kya deadpanned, making Ryuko, who was walking next to her, laugh lightly. "Shut up already." Zoro grumbled as Usopp and Chopper jumped up in the air. "Wadddahhh!"

"Oh, Usopp. How is it coming along? Did you finish?" Nami asked, making everyone raise an eyebrow. "It?" Sanji repeated, his cigarette hanging idly out of his mouth. "Yeah…I finished it." The sharpshooter replied, digging through his bag. He pulled out six metal pipes, each a different length and size. "Look! This is your new weapon! 'Climatact'!" He said proudly, handing it to her. "Climatact?" She repeated, looking at the items strangely. "I wish I could fight like you all." Ryuko admitted embarrassingly as Usopp explained the climatact. "You don't know how to fight?" Zoro questioned, furrowing his eyebrows at the pink haired man. "Not at all."

"Hey, don't give Nami-san any dangerous weapons Usopp! Nami-san, Vivi-chan and Kya-chwan don't need to fight cause I'll protect them! Just call me Prince!" Sanji laughed to himself, not even facing the group. "Prince." Zoro said sarcastically, ticking the blonde off yet again. "Shut the hell up dammit!" The swordsman ignored him, turning to Vivi. "Hey, do you think Baroque Works knows we're in this country?" She nodded, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. "We met Mr. 2 and we know Mr. 3 is here…So I think we should assume they know we're here." She explained and Luffy frowned. "So what?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "They know our faces, so no random actions." Usopp informed him. "How come?!"

"We have no idea where the Baroque Work's fighters could be hiding. There's no way we can get to Crocodile if we're caught first." The long nosed man slapped his fist in the palm of his hand. "Assassination is their specialty…" Kya added, but of course Luffy wasn't paying attention. "Okay! Crocodile your ass is grass!" He declared yet again, only to be hit in the head by Usopp. "Were you even listening to me?!" He was about to him again when Vivi interrupted. "But Usopp-san, I-I agree with Luffy-san! Everything is about to happen now; we don't have time to think." She admitted, and his heart seemed to fall out of his mouth. "Usopp, are you scared?" Nami asked, making Ryuko snicker. "I know I'm not!" Chopper shouted, though his long legs were shaking slightly. "Shut up…."

They walked into the large town, avoided being trampled by the citizens, and gathered around a less populated area. "Now, since Luffy refuses to share his water, we need some more." Vivi started slowly, instantly regretting what she said. "Yosh! I will get the water for you!" The captain declared, thrusting his fist in the air. "I'll go with you!" Usopp threw his arm around Luffy's shoulder and Luffy did the same to him. "Going to gather the waaaater~! Going to gather the waaaater~!" The sang, dancing off into the crowd. "They'll be fine." Nami placed a reassuring hand on the princess' shoulder. "It's just getting water."

"Ah, hopefully they don't cause a riot this time." Kya muttered, pulling herself on top of the fence they were next to, Eyelashes laying down under her feet. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did. I've only known them for two days, but it seems they cause trouble wherever you go." Ryuko laughed to himself, leaning against the fence next to his sister. "Tell me about it." Nami groaned, sitting down against it along with Vivi. "You guys worry too much." Zoro yawned lazily, sitting down next to Eyelashes and hitting him with a stick. "You just worry too little, Bushido-san." Vivi deadpanned.

After ten minutes of the boys not returning, the majority of the crew was starting to get a little worried. "I'm going to go take a whiz." Chopper informed them, yawning as he walked off to who-knows-where. "Should we really have let them do that?" Sanji asked, staring off into the distance for the two. "It's only an errand, they can do it." Nami sighed helplessly; she was really itching to go and win some Beli. "I wonder…you don't think they'll come back with trouble do you?" Eyelashes snatched the stick from Zoro's hand angrily. "Maybe we should be prepared for that." He put his arms behind his head boredly. "I think you're the one who worries the most…." Kya snickered, brushing the deadly glare she was receiving off.

"Hey, I see th-Crap! The Marines are chasing them!" Sanji deadpanned at the two idiots running at full speed towards them. "Are you kidding?! Why are they running over here?!" Nami screamed as everyone stood to their feet. "Those damn idiots; always starting shit." Kya groaned, cracking her wrists. "Wait! Tony-kun isn't back yet!" Vivi cried, noticing the missing reindeer. "Leave him, he'll be fine!" Zoro said as they took off, the Marines trailing closely behind them. "Hey guys! The Marines are coming!" Luffy informed, just a tad too late. "You brought them over here!"

"Ah, it's Smoker again. He's followed us here." Kya grunted as they ran through the crowded main area of the city. "These aren't good people running around! This will help Baroque Works spot us!" Sanji cried, pushing a flamboyantly dressed man out of his way. "I think it's too late." Zoro muttered, and she noted the men sitting around, staring at them then back to the papers they were holding. "Dammit, things just got a lot more complicated."

"Let's go then!" Luffy suddenly declared, a smile spreading on his face. "To where Crocodile is Vivi!" The princess looked at him for a moment, before turning back forward and pointing at the building in front of her. "Over there! Can you see the building with the crocodile on top? That's the casino Crocodile owns; Rain Dinners!" She explained and everyone nodded. "We should scatter." Sanji said and Kya nodded, grabbing her brother by the wrist. "Don't wander off!"

She followed Zoro and Vivi through a few bustling streets before they were surrounded by Marines. "Vivi, you and Ryuko go on ahead." The swordsman said, drawing his swords and quickly clearing a pathway. "Be careful, Bushido-san, Kya-san!" The princess called, running off with Ryuko at her side. "Do you think they'll be okay?" Kya asked the green haired man beside her as she kicked a few Marines away. "I'm sure they'll make it there safely." He smirked, defeating the lone swordsman who challenged him. "He wasn't good enough, try again."

Suddenly, what seemed like out of nowhere, the dark haired girl with glasses from Loguetown appeared in the middle of the Marine soldiers. "Not her…" He froze, his eyes becoming wide. "Roronoa Zoro!" She called out angrily, her forehead crinkling in anger. "So we meet again!" Kya ignored their bickerings and instead tried to find a path out of the entrapment. _'How are we always getting caught in something like this?!'_ She thought desperately looking around. "Found it!" She smiled, spotting an opening from the direction they came from. "Come on Zoro!" She grabbed his robes, pulling him behind her. "Hey! Wait!"

"Why is she so annoying?!" He groaned, clenching his fist tightly. "Why do you have such a deep hatred for her?" She asked as they ran alongside each other, dodging the pedestrians. "It's nothing, forget about it." He said quickly, making her snort. "Whatever you say."

They arrived back in front of Crocodile's casino, where they spotted Nami and Usopp being gunned down. "Can't they fight back for once?" The assassin muttered as she and Zoro kicked the Baroque Works' members down and out for the count. "Zoro! Kya!" Nami cried, relieved, but soon became worried. "Weren't Vivi and Ryuko with you?" She looked around frantically for the two. "Yeah, we let them go on ahead. Are they not here yet?" He answered, panting lightly. "Maybe they went inside." Kya suggested, and the others nodded. "Then we have to hurry-" A loud cry cut the orange haired girl off, and they group turned to see Luffy running, waving his arms frantically as Smoker chased him. "Moku Moku's chasing me!" He cried loudly.

"Let's go everybody! Run inside, run!"

* * *

**Thank you everyone for not hating me. 3 **


End file.
